Gyeongsangbuk-do Revving up growth engine for high-tech firms 상세내용
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Gyeongsangbuk-do Revving up growth engine for high-tech firms
date
2007-12-28 00:00:00
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Gyeongsangbuk-do is drawing international attention as a region with development potential, as high-tech global companies and energy developers are arriving here seeking sustainable business growth.
Gumi Industrial Complex (left and top) and Gumi Bridge
Located near major metropolitan cities Daegu and Ulsan and the resource-rich East Sea, the province received the 2007 Presidential Award on Foreign Company Day, Nov. 1. The award recognized the province’s effort in improving its infrastructure and attracting foreign investors to the region.
Gyeongsangbuk-do has seen a total of 2.9 billion of year-on-year investment in the region as of July. Its foreign investment -- 1.14 billion -- accounted for almost 40 percent of all investment locally, according to the province’s data.
With the growing investment, the province expects to create some 15,000 new jobs in the next two to three years, a provincial official told Korea Policy Review.
Gyeongsangbuk-do has attracted high-tech global firms such as CoorsTek and Asahi Glass, which produce semiconductors and LCD materials, respectively. Also on board are energy-source developers such as Japan’s Orix and Spain-based Acciona.
The nation’s leading companies such as Hyundai Mobis, E&C Construction Corp. and POSCO have also committed to the region, investing a total of 1.7 trillion won (1.85 billion) during the same period.
What attracts these companies is not only the province’s geographical advantage and infrastructure, but also the continuous efforts by the officials to boost growth.
Gyeongsangbuk-do covers almost 20 percent of Korea’s total land area and is 31 times larger than the nation’s capital, Seoul. Located in the southeastern part of the peninsula, it is connected by extensive transportation networks -- air, high-speed trains and expressways -- which enable people to reach most regions of the province in only 50 minutes to three hours.
Its location has provided advantages in logistics to many overseas-based companies seeking to expand in the country. In May 2009, the Yeongnam Inland Freight Terminal will be completed in Chilgok-gun (County), which will handle some 35 million tons of freight annually.
The province expects that a large number of businesses will build or transfer facilities to the region, which will produce an estimated 480 million worth of good annually. This will save logistical expenses by nearly 100 million, officials said.
The transation of the province into an investment hub has been triggered by Gyeongsangbuk-do Gov. Kim Gwang-young. “My focus, since the appointment, has been attracting more companies and creating more jobs in the province,” he told KPR.
Kim has been a firm believer of balanced development in local communities, spreading out the majority of foreign companies now concentrated in the nation’s capital.
Kim, upon being named governor, transed the official residence, a three-story house, into an overseas investment center. The center, completed in December 2006, has so far hosted 18 investment symposia and has been visited by 330 investors seeking business opportunities in the province.
With local and overseas companies and tourists visiting the region, the local economy is booming. We started working under the slogan of ‘Rich Gyeongbuk’ in July 2006. And we are witnessing the results in only one year’s time, the governor said.
The governor established a division solely devoted to foreign investment and trade last year, which was a first for a local government. Spearheaded by Sung Ki-ryong, the er head of the Korea Trade-Investment and Promotion Agency in Milan, Italy, the division has 70 workers, 17 of whom are experts in international trade.
We are more like businesspeople here. But our main focus is to be a trustworthy partner to our potential investors and to provide them with all the benefits we can offer,a spokesperson from the division said.
Gyeongsangbuk-do hosted the 2007 International Energy Conference in February to promote its infrastructure for the energy industry and potential energy resources in the East Sea.
The province also expects to benefit from the concluded free trade agreement between Korea and the United States, which is awaiting ratification by the legislatures of both nations.
