Dutch chip firm ASM to invest USD 100 mln in S. Korea for facility expansion
S. Korea's industry ministry said on Feb. 2 it agreed with Dutch semiconductor equipment supplier ASM to boost cooperation for the firm's planned investment of USD 100 million to build a production factory and a research and development center in S. Korea. The two sides signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in Seoul on the day, which calls for joint work for the smooth implementation of the corporate investment worth USD 100 million through 2025, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
The company is reviewing building a second factory that produces equipment for atomic layer deposition, a key process in chips manufacturing, and the expansion of its R&D center in S. Korea. Currently, ASM is headquartered in the city of Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, some 40 kilometers south of Seoul.
S. Korea vows to meet 'global standard' for inclusion in WGBI
S. Korea will continue to revamp its market policies to attract more foreign investors to join the World Government Bond Index (WGBI) this year, the finance ministry said on Feb. 9. The remark came after Second Vice Finance Minister Choi Sang-dae held a meeting with David Sol, the global head of London-based FTSE Russell, which operates the index on Feb. 8 (Britain time). The WGBI is a broad index designed to measure the performance of government bond markets, including local currencies and sovereign bonds of major advanced nations. Asia's No. 4 economy made it to the "watchlist" in September 2022.
S. Korea has recently been making efforts to ease market regulations, including announcing its plan to abolish the existing mandatory registration policy for foreigners investing in listed securities. The country also began exempting taxes on interest income and capital gains for non-residents and foreign companies' investment in Treasuries and monetary stabilization bonds. Korea also announced it will extend the operating hours of its foreign exchange market—which currently runs for 6 1/2 hours from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. —to 17 hours to close at 2 a.m. the day after, as early as the second half of 2024.
*This article is extracted from Invest KOREA information center, 2023