GANGWON-DO < invest Korea

According to Yonhap News,

(SEJONG = Yonhap News) The government said Monday that it has designated five new locations as foreign investment zones that are expected to create over 1,100 new jobs.

A foreign investment zone (FIZ) is designated upon request from foreign investors or joint ventures with an investment plan. Having the FIZ designation entitles the investors to a wide range of benefits, including reduced rent and tax incentives.

"If the foreign investment in the five newly designated foreign investment zones (FIZs) is carried out as currently planned, a total of 1.17 trillion won (US$1.11 billion) will be invested with 1,159 new jobs in direct employment," the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said in a press release.

One of the five new FIZs is a joint investment area where four foreign companies, including German medical equipment manufacturer Artificial Life Inc., plan to invest a total of $68 million over the next five years, employing 580 people in Munmak, Gangwon Province, according to the ministry.

A joint venture between South Korea's Lotte Chemical and Italy's Versalis S.p.A. plans to invest over $515 million, including $100 million in foreign direct investment, to begin producing petrochemical products, such as rubber, from 2017 in Yeosu, 455 kilometers south of Seoul.

The other three new FIZs are each set to house Japan's Toray Industries, Inc., Nitto Denko Corp. and U.S.-based Air Products & Chemicals, Inc.

South Korea currently operates 81 FIZs throughout the country.

bdk@yna.co.kr

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Source Text

Source: Yonhap News (Dec. 9, 2013)

** This article was translated from the Korean.