Investment Promotion Activities Conducted in Shanghai and Zhejiang Province, China

Published 10 Apr.2023 13:19(KST)

Secondary Battery Anode Materials Lead Investment in Lithium Iron Phosphate Cell Manufacturing

The Gwangyang Bay Area Free Economic Zone Authority (Director Song Sang-rak, hereinafter Gwangyang Economic Authority) announced that it conducted investment attraction activities in the secondary battery sector by visiting Shanghai (上海) and Zhejiang Province (浙江省), key regions of China's economy and industry, from April 4 to 8 for five days.

The Gwangyang Economic Authority resumed on-site investment attraction activities in China for the first time in three years, following the recent phased easing of COVID-19 measures and the reopening of ties with China.

[Photo by Gwangyang Economic Promotion Agency]

Upon arrival in Shanghai, the delegation held a meeting with the Shanghai Trade Office on the first day, listened to trends of Chinese companies' investments in Korea after COVID-19, and promised cooperation in jointly discovering potential investment companies with the Gwangyang Economic Authority.

They then held a briefing session on the return policy for Korean companies located in Shanghai, providing information on the investment environment in the Gwangyang Bay Area and incentives for returning companies.

The next day, the delegation moved to Zhejiang Province and visited Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt (浙江華友??), a joint venture with POSCO; Zhejiang Tanri Energy (浙江?一新能源), an anode material manufacturer; and Narada Energy (浙江南都?源), a lithium iron phosphate cell manufacturer for ESS, confirming investment intentions and conducting in-depth consultations.

These companies are secondary battery firms seeking overseas expansion amid the global supply chain restructuring, and their investment in our region is expected to establish a core secondary battery ecosystem, stabilize the supply chain, and create jobs.

On the 7th, the delegation moved to Hangzhou to meet with the head of the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Commerce.

The Gwangyang Bay Area is the most active region for Chinese manufacturing investment in Korea, including companies like Gwangyang Aluminum and Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt, and it was emphasized as the optimal location for Chinese companies to expand overseas by utilizing Gwangyang Port and Korea's FTA platform.

In particular, this year marks the 25th anniversary of the sisterhood between Jeollanam-do and Zhejiang Province, and efforts will be made to strengthen investment and trade cooperation between companies in the Gwangyang Bay Area and Zhejiang Province.

Song Sang-rak, Director of the Gwangyang Economic Authority, stated, "Through this investment attraction activity in China, we achieved tangible results in attracting Chinese companies to invest in our region in the fields of anode materials and lithium iron phosphate cell manufacturing, and further solidified the foundation to develop into a secondary battery industry cluster through foreign investment attraction."