Global energy, automobile companies pledge $940 million investment in Korea

Five energy and automobile companies from Thailand, Spain and France pledged to invest a combined $940 million in Korea, submitting investment applications to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on Tuesday.

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, fifth from right, poses with representatives from B.Grimm, Ocean Winds, Hines, Renault Korea Motors and TOK Advanced Materials, who pledged a total of $940 million investment in Korea on Tuesday at the 2023 Invest KOREA Summit held in Busan. [THE KOREA TRADE-INVESTMENT PROMOTION AGENCY]

Five energy and automobile companies from Thailand, Spain and France pledged to invest a combined $940 million in Korea, submitting investment applications to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on Tuesday.

Five companies will invest in Korea in four different fields: Two energy companies, Bangkok-based B.Grimm and Madrid-based Ocean Winds, to develop offshore wind farms; Houston-based real estate developer Hines in developing infrastructure for quantum computing; Renault Korea Motors in hybrid car production and TOK Advanced Materials, a joint venture between Japanese chemicals supplier Tokyo Ohka Kogyo and Samsung C&T, in semiconductor materials.

B.Grimm and Ocean Winds plan to establish offshore wind turbine facilities and plants to produce related key parts within the country.

Hines will open a complex dedicated to quantum computing in Busan.

Under the investment plan, Renault Korea will convert its existing production lines for internal combustion engine vehicles into hybrid-powered cars.

TOK Advanced Materials will build a factory to produce photoresists used in making chips to strengthen the supply value chain between Korea and Japan.

“The FDI will become an opportunity to accelerate Korean industry’s transition to a sustainable one and strengthen high-tech sectors such as in semiconductors, mobility, biohealth and AI,” Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said in his congratulatory remarks at the Invest KOREA conference held at Bexco on Tuesday.

Han promised to ease regulations and to give more incentives to foreign investors to create a more attractive market environment.

“We will define [restricitve regulatory measures] as ‘killer regulations’ and are working to give more dramatic incentives, such as tax credits, to foreign businesses in Korea,” Han said.

Kim Jong-seok, head of the Presidential Regulatory Reform Committee, promised to give more autonomy to local governments to facilitate balanced regional development and investments and to reduce regulations for small and medium enterprises.

The announcement was made during the 2023 Invest KOREA Summit, hosted by the Trade Ministry and organized by Invest KOREA under the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency.

The event was hosted in Busan for the first time this year since its establishment in 2006 to promote the southern port city’s bid for the 2030 World Expo at the suggestion of Busan Mayor Park Heong-joon.

BY LEE JAE-LIM [lee.jaelim@joongang.co.kr]