THE EARLY ACHIEVEMENT OF $20 BILLION OF FOREIGN INVESTMENT IN FIVE CONSECUTIVE YEARS
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy(MOTIE) announced that ,as of
December,2, the foreign investment reached $20.3 billion, and $20 billion
of foreign investment was early achieved in five consecutive years.
It was evaluated that the early achievement of $20 billion in the foreign
investment was possible because the actual foreign investment record,
which has been low for the first half of the year, compared to that of last
year, turned to recovery in the second half, and, in particular, large
investment projects were intensively reported in the fourth quarter.
The factors in five-consecutive-year achievement of $20 billion in FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) are as follows.
- ① Some large-scale projects were concluded even in a situation where the global investment sentiment has contracted due to difficult external conditions because the foreign investors continued to rank Korea's market as high.
- ② The FDI upgraded qualitatively to contribute to the industrial advancement due to the active investment in materials, parts, equipment, new industry and high-end consumer goods(K-beauty, K-food and etc.)
Major Cases of FDI in 2019
- 1) Materials, Parts and Equipment
- - (Lam Research)Establishing "domestic R&D center"for the development of advanced semiconductor equipment(USA, $1.4 billion)
- - (Umicore)Building a production base as a leading global company in the production of rechargeable battery cathodes(Germany,$0.2 billion)
- - (Company C)Establishing a local production corporation for semiconductor seal products depending on total import(Japan,$0.1 billion)
- 2) High-tech New Industry
- - (Company H)Developing anticancer drugs to treat major cancers such as liver and colon ones(USA, $1.6 billion)
- - (Company V)Developing a unique operating system that combines Cloud and AI(Hongkong, $0.3 billion)
- - (Company S)Manufacturing the medical high-tech machinery such as ultrasonic diagnostic equipment, and etc.(China, $0.4 billion)
- 3) High-end Consumer Goods
- - (Memebox)Supplying domestic brand cosmetics on-and-off lines (Singapore, $0.1 billion)
- - (Haveandbe)The equity investment in the K-beauty brand recognized for global competitiveness(England, $11.3 billion)
- - (Kurly)Expanding the delivery service of fresh ingredients to the consumers in a cold chain form (Cayman, $0.6 billion)
- ③ The efforts to improve "systems" related to the government's diversified activities to attract high-quality foreign investment have led to the substantial result.
The MOTIE plans to make various efforts with the local government bodies and
the agencies concerned to continue the long-term momentum of FDI.
And, also, the MOTIE plans to concentrate its capabilities on attracting investment
on the basis of cash support(rate 30%→40%) and rapid permits strengthened to
the projects that contribute to the high national economic effects and industrial
advancement such as material, parts ,equipment, and etc. and to induce additional
investment through smooth communication with the foreign companies and
organizations concerned and overseas IR activities to major countries such as US.
Sources and Inquiry :Dept. of Investment Promotion, MOTIE
TEL. 044-203-4086