Financial Services Commission and Ministry of Trade Join Forces for Manufacturing AX Transformation... National Growth Fund Investment Collaboration

Strengthening the Link Between the M.AX Alliance and the National Growth Fund

Yonhap News Agency

The Financial Services Commission and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy discussed strategies for linking investments with the "National Growth Fund," which is being established with a target size of 150 trillion won. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy plans to identify outstanding artificial intelligence transformation (AX) projects through the "M.AX Alliance" and propose them for investment to the National Growth Fund.

The Financial Services Commission announced that, together with the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, it held the "M.AX Alliance-National Growth Fund Linkage Meeting" at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry on the afternoon of December 4. At the meeting, companies participating in the M.AX Alliance, including Samsung Electronics, Hyundai Motor, SK, and Korea Express, also unveiled their investment plans related to manufacturing AX.

This meeting was organized to strengthen the connection and create synergy between the National Growth Fund, which is discovering high-impact investment targets in advanced strategic industries including AI, and the M.AX Alliance, which requires large-scale investment capital. The M.AX Alliance is a public-private joint coalition launched in September with the goal of making Korea the world's leading manufacturing AX nation by 2030.

The Financial Services Commission and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy plan to use this meeting as a starting point to establish a cooperative framework to further strengthen the connection between the M.AX Alliance and the National Growth Fund.

First, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy will continue to identify high-quality investment projects related to manufacturing AX, focusing on the needs of M.AX Alliance member companies, and propose them to the National Growth Fund. In addition, the ministry plans to design new infrastructure projects for large-scale data generation and utilization, computing, and demonstration that can be jointly used by companies within the M.AX Alliance, and explore ways to link these with the National Growth Fund. Furthermore, in consultation with the Financial Services Commission, a communication channel will be established to enable companies and financial institutions to engage in ongoing dialogue and cooperation.

At the meeting, Hyundai Motor announced investment plans related to AI model development and robot production, while HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering presented its AI transformation plans for the shipbuilding and offshore sector. Doosan Robotics, CJ Logistics, Ecopro, and Furiosa also revealed their respective investment plans.

According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy's initial survey through the M.AX Alliance, the investment demand from companies related to manufacturing AX exceeds 10 trillion won. By sector, demand includes 6.6 trillion won for humanoids, 1.5 trillion won for AI semiconductors, and 1.3 trillion won for AI factories. Member companies of the M.AX Alliance plan to discuss investment plans and financial terms with the National Growth Fund in greater detail going forward.

The Financial Services Commission plans to support the advanced strategic industries and related ecosystems by utilizing a variety of methods-including direct and indirect investment, infrastructure investment and loans, and ultra-low interest loans-tailored to corporate demand through the National Growth Fund. Currently, a decision-making system involving top private sector, financial, and industry experts has been established, and practical reviews of initial investment projects are underway to ensure that investments can be executed as quickly as possible after the fund’s launch at the end of the year.

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