Chungcheongnam-do

▲ Seo Cheol-mo, Director of Planning and Management Office of Chungcheongnam-do, Doris Hsu, Chairperson and CEO of GlobalWafers in Taipei, Taiwan 

Chungcheongnam-do is widening its global economic territory by attracting foreign investments from Asian companies, such as from China and Taiwan.

On the 17th, Chungcheongnam-do signed an MOU for foreign capital investment at the head office of GlobalWafers in Taipei, Taiwan with Doris Hsu, the Chairperson of GlobalWafers, and Oh Seok-gyo, the Director of Corporate Support Division of Cheonan City.

According to the MOU, GlobalWafers will construct a high-tech 300mm silicon wafer production plant on a 9550㎡ site of MEMC Korea in Seonggeo-eup, Cheonan-si. For this, GlobalWafers will invest a total of KRW 480 billion including $200 million in FDI (foreign direct investment) by 2020.

According to Chungcheongnam-do, this foreign investment will produce economic effects creating 185 new jobs, generate KRW 900 billion in sales, induce production by KRW 2.73 trillion and substitute imports by KRW900 billion over the next five years. Chungcheongnam-do also anticipates that it will advance as a global hub for 300mm wafers.

Established in 2011, GlobalWafers operates 26 affiliates in 14 countries. It is one of the world’s three wafer manufacturers and has secured a global market share of 18% as of the end of last year. With the head office in Taipei, Taiwan, GlobalWafers has 6,951 employees and records approximately KRW 1.7 trillion in annual sales (as of 2017).

Following the MOU with the Taiwanese company, the Director of Planning and Management Office of Chungcheongnam-do signed another MOU for foreign capital investment on the 18th with the Chairperson of Jianhua Valve and Shin Jae-man, the Director of Economic Development Office of Boryeong-si, at the Westin Qingdao.

With this MOU, Jianhua Valve will construct a cast iron valve manufacturing plant on the site of KXD measuring 9216㎡ inside Jupo Agro-industrial Complex in Boryeong-si by the end of this year. For this, the company agreed to invest $10 million (FDI).

If Jianhua Valve proceeds with the investment as promised, Chungcheongnam-do forecasts that it will produce economic effects creating 50 new jobs, generate KRW 200 billion in sales, trigger production by KRW 50 billion and induce exports of KRW 50 billion over the next five years.

Chungcheongnam-do also anticipates that this foreign investment will lead to activating the induction of Chinese businesses, which has been stagnant due to economic depression in Korea and abroad and the aftereffect of the THAAD deployment.

Jianhua Valve, which was established in 1999, operates over 20 branches in China. It manufactures cast iron valves and shape tubes. Jianhua Valve is a medium-standing company with capital of CNY 300 million (KRW 50.8 billion) and 460 employees.