Jeonbuk Province Reports Foreign Investment Performance of 860 Million USD in the First Half of the Year

Corporate Preference for Saemangeum Industrial Complex Location Excellence

Jeollabuk-do ranked second in attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) in non-metropolitan areas during the first half of this year. The scale involved 25 cases from 22 companies, with a reported amount of 860 million USD.

According to the foreign direct investment trends for the second quarter of 2023 announced by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on the 4th, GM Korea New Energy Materials, which signed an investment agreement in Jeollabuk-do last March, reported 500 million USD, and Solus Biotech, located in Iksan, reported 271 million USD due to a merger and acquisition with a foreign (UK) company.

The top non-metropolitan area was Gyeongsangbuk-do with 956 million USD. Following Jeollabuk-do, third place was Gyeonggi-do, which attracted 380 million USD. Non-metropolitan areas refer to the 14 metropolitan local governments excluding Seoul, Gyeonggi, and Incheon.

Jeonbuk Provincial Government Office Building View

Among the 22 reporting companies, 11 are in retail distribution, 3 in petrochemicals, 2 in metal processing, and one company each in electrical/electronics, manufacturing, environment, restaurants, research, and food sectors.

By country, China accounted for 8 companies, the United States, Hong Kong, the United Kingdom, and Vietnam each had 2 companies, and Mongolia, Sweden, Jordan, Kyrgyzstan, Cyprus, and Thailand each had 1 company. By region within Jeollabuk-do, Gunsan had 11 companies, Jeonju 4, Iksan 2, Jeongeup 2, and Namwon, Gimje, and Buan each had 1 company.

Additionally, according to Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy data, the cumulative FDI amount in Jeollabuk-do from 1962 to the first half of 2023 totaled 7.99 billion USD. Notably, recent years showed rapid growth with 115 million USD ranked 10th in 2021, 1.962 billion USD ranked 2nd in 2022, and 860 million USD ranked 2nd in the first half of 2023.

Jeollabuk-do analyzed that despite challenging conditions such as high interest rates, the prolonged Russia-Ukraine war, the US-China hegemonic conflict, the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), and the European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), foreign investors’ trust was confirmed due to the excellent location of the Saemangeum Industrial Complex, a stable manufacturing base, and a favorable investment environment.

Yang Seon-hwa, head of the Jeollabuk-do Corporate Attraction Promotion Team, stated, "We will continue efforts to ensure that the attracted companies settle well in the region and grow locally," adding, "We plan to closely review institutional improvements and incentives for foreign-invested companies."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.