POSCO Chemical, EcoPro, GS Construction, and Other Major Companies in Secondary Battery Sector Attracted
18.2% Increase Compared to Previous Year... "33% Surpassing Early Year Target Amount"
The photo shows the signing ceremony of the Coupang investment memorandum held on September 11 last year.
[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Dong-wook] It has been revealed that Gyeongsangbuk-do's corporate investment attraction has achieved steady results despite the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic and the contraction of the domestic and international real economy.
According to Gyeongbuk Province on the 17th, the total amount attracted to the province last year through investment agreements (MOU) and factory registrations reached 6.6586 trillion KRW.
The investment agreement results signed jointly by Gyeongbuk Province and each city and county amounted to 5.3839 trillion KRW from 134 companies including EcoPro affiliates, GS Construction, Hanmi Science, Coupang, Ajou Steel, Bearing Art, and SK Plasma. As a result, 825 factories were newly established or expanded (1.2747 trillion KRW), creating 9,248 new jobs.
This amount is an 18.2% increase compared to the investment attraction amount in 2019, before COVID-19 occurred domestically (5.6322 trillion KRW). It also exceeded the province's initial annual target of 5 trillion KRW by 33%.
Gyeongbuk Province explained that these results were mainly due to their best efforts to attract large corporations that can serve as anchors utilizing the region's industrial base, such as battery recycling and the industrial hemp regulatory free zone, amid a situation where corporate investment expansion was shrinking due to the prolonged COVID-19 crisis and the US-China trade war.
Going forward, Gyeongbuk Province plans to secure an advantage in competition with other cities and provinces by boldly providing incentives such as a full review of the subsidy support system through ordinance revisions, prioritizing entry into rental-only industrial complexes, and enabling private contracts when selling national and public land.
Lee Cheol-woo, Governor of Gyeongbuk Province, stated, "This year, we will further strengthen the discovery of investment information through video conferences and web seminars," and added, "We will mobilize all administrative power to ensure stable settlement in the region by continuously managing and strengthening skinship with investment companies, resolving their difficulties, and devising various support measures."
Meanwhile, POSCO Chemical's secondary battery anode material manufacturing plant (250 billion KRW) began construction on July 3rd, and Ajou Steel, the first company to return to Korea, is investing 60 billion KRW to establish a smart factory-type plant in Gimcheon 1 General Industrial Complex by April this year.
Additionally, in November, a groundbreaking ceremony was held for EcoPro EM's secondary battery cathode material Pohang plant (180 billion KRW), a joint investment with Samsung SDI, and in the first half of this year, the construction of GS Construction's battery recycling manufacturing facility (100 billion KRW) and Coupang's advanced logistics center (100 billion KRW) is also expected, showing that the actual investments and new employment by the attracted companies are bearing fruit.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
