Luxembourg pitches itself as gateway to Europe, and space

Luxembourg wants Korean start-ups, the grand duchy looking for everything from digital technology companies to those involved in asteroid mining.

Franz Fayot, Luxembourg’s minister of the economy, talks at a round table interview at the Four Seasons Hotel in Jongno District, central Seoul, on Monday. [MINISTRY OF THE ECONOMY]

Luxembourg wants Korean start-ups, the grand duchy looking for everything from digital technology companies to those involved in asteroid mining.

“One of the big selling points for Luxembourg is that we are a gateway to Europe,” said Franz Fayot, Luxembourg’s minister of the economy, at a round table interview on Monday. “We have networks of companies of all different types of nationalities, and I think that's what makes it an attractive place to start opening your business to Europe.”

Space is one major focus, with Luxembourg aiming to become an international hub for space mining, specifically of the moon and asteroids. The country’s ministry of the economy signed a memorandum of understanding with Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT on Monday to cooperate in space mining and developing other space-related technologies.

With the country looking for business partnerships, Luxembourg’s economic delegation led by Crown Prince Guillaume Jean Joseph Marie is visiting Korea through Tuesday to talk about cooperation in space industries, startups and environmental technologies.

More room for cooperation remains, with the country’s ministry of the economy partnering with Korea’s Ministry of SMEs and Startups and opening the Smart Green Business Center this year to incubate start-ups in Luxembourg.

The Korea JoongAng Daily sat down for a round table interview with Fayot at the Four Seasons Hotel in Jongno District, central Seoul, on Monday during his visit to Seoul.

Below are edited excerpts of the interview.

Q. Space mining is a fairly new industry. When do you think the industry will materialize?

A.The industry’s potential has been valued at about $1 trillion at the European Space Agency’s ministerial conference held in Paris last week. And when you ask about when this is going to materialize, I think the answer is that it will happen gradually. This industry is really just starting to rise in Luxembourg, with businesses building things to explore the moon, such as robots, and coming up with ways to install solar panels.

What makes Luxembourg an attractive country for startups to grow internationally?

We have business-friendly regulations and policies. One good example is the space sector, and we have introduced a legislation in 2017 that allows the exploration and utilization of space resources to promote the space mining sector.

And there is also a lot of professional support and advice. We have programs such as soft landing, and if a Korean company wants to come to Luxembourg, it can get help from state organizations like Luxinnovation and House of Enterpreneurship, which is all free of charge. We also have a Fit4Start program, which offers maximum six months of mentoring, funding of up to 150,000 euros ($156,000) and free access to coworking space. We recently got around 300 applications for the program. Fifteen got chosen, with one company from Korea.

Other European countries are also known for giving significant support for start-ups. What makes Luxembourg stand out?

Yes, other European countries also have a lot of similar programs. But what makes us a little more special is that we are a small country, and because of that, we can be very agile and efficient.

Are there industries or Korean start-ups Luxembourg is interested in cooperating with?

We have Korean industrial companies that are present in Luxembourg, such as Kiswire and Hyosung, and there is also Korean investment in Solus, a circuit foil maker for 5G applications. The idea is to cherish those industries even more, but there are also new ventures we are looking for, such as those in ICT. Korea is a fantastic country when it comes to innovation in digital technology, and Luxembourg also wants to develop in those areas. We have a special state-promoted project to develop supercomputers and data centers in Luxembourg as well.

We also think that we need to roll out 5G networks. The main telecom company in Luxembourg is a state-owned business, and we think it will be good to partner with a foreign company to have 5G connections. We are talking to Samsung of course, and we are interested in deepening the relationship to improve our technologies.

BY LEE TAE-HEE [lee.taehee2@joongang.co.kr]