S. Korea attracts USD 1.15 bn investment in chip, battery from seven NA firms
Seven North American companies in the fields of chips, electric vehicles, energy and logistics pledged a combined USD 1.15 billion investment in S. Korea to strengthen cooperation between the two nations to enhance related industries’ supply chains amid intensifying competition. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on Sept. 22 (local time in New York) that it received investment declaration letters from seven North American firms during a North American Investment Reporting Ceremony and Investor Roundtable in New York, the United States on the same day. The seven names are Applied Materials, DuPont and Entegris in the semiconductor industry, Solid Energy System (SES) and BorgWarner in the EV and battery sector, Northland Power in the onshore wind farm market and EMP Belstar in the logistics field.
The latest investment pledges by North American firms are mostly for research and development centers and other quality facilities and thus will contribute to the development of advanced technologies in Korea and nurture technology experts at home, the ministry said. Expectations for positive effects on the semiconductor industry ecosystem and supply chains also are rising as Applied Materials and three other global leaders in materials engineering solutions for chips (ASML, Tokyo Electron and Lam Research) have been active in investment in Korea. The latest investment pledges are closely related the Korean government’s national projects to enhance supply chains and achieve carbon neutrality, said Lee Chang-yang, the industry minister.
Korea vows favorable taxation for US, foreign firms
S. Korea's National Tax Service (NTS) and the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea (AMCHAM) held a meeting on Sept. 16 to discuss favorable tax policies for foreign companies. It was the first such meeting in seven years between the tax authority and the US business chamber in Korea. “Through fair taxation and world-class tax service, Korea will forge an investment environment where foreign companies can operate with little tax burden,” NTS Commissioner Kim Chang-ki told the AMCHAM delegation, which included Chairman and CEO James Kim and Chairman of Board of Governors Henry An. Total foreign direct investment from the US to Korea reached USD 2.95 billion in the first half of 2022, up 39.5 percent from the same period in 2021, according to Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
*This article is extracted from Invest KOREA information center, 2022.