Top 30 Korean corporations pledge to invest $150 billion in the US

US President Donald Trump (left) and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung at a meeting at the White House, Washington DC, US, August 25. (Photo: THX/TTXVN)

According to a reporter in Seoul, speaking at the “Korea-US Business Roundtable: Partnership for Manufacturing Renaissance” event in Washington, within the framework of his visit to the US, the South Korean President especially emphasized that “strong security is the pillar of a strong economy,” and announced the MASGA project initiated by South Korea to support the US in reviving the shipbuilding industry and strengthening its military strength, thereby bringing benefits to both the US economy and security.

According to the South Korean leader, the country's businesses, which own shipyards ranked from No. 1 to No. 3 in the world , will play a decisive role in rebuilding the US shipbuilding industry, with a wide portfolio ranging from commercial ships to LNG ships, icebreakers and other advanced vessels.

President Lee Jae Myung also announced that he will focus on strengthening cooperation with the United States in the field of next-generation nuclear power and developing and commercializing small modular reactors (SMRs) to meet electricity demand in the age of artificial intelligence (AI) and enhance energy security.

Regarding the advanced industrial sector, Mr. Lee Jae Myung said that the Korean-US semiconductor supply chain has a symbiotic structure based on each other's strengths.

In the future, Korean companies such as SK and Samsung will build manufacturing facilities including packaging and semiconductor chip manufacturing in the US. Accordingly, the US will emerge as a core base of the semiconductor supply chain.

President Lee Jae Myung also stressed that to stabilize the supply of core goods, it is necessary to build sustainable trade relationships.

Next, President Lee proposed strengthening cooperation in the field of biotechnology and medicine , saying that during the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, the Korean government had experience providing diagnostic kits at the request of President Trump.

He called on American businesses to increase investment in Korea, and affirmed that the Korean Government will create favorable conditions for the operations of the business communities of the two countries.

According to him, the foundation of the alliance is trust and the best way to achieve trust is still economic exchange.

Also during the visit, 30 leading Korean corporations announced a major investment plan worth 150 billion USD in the US.

Hyundai Motor Group has announced plans to invest 36 trillion won (about $26 billion) in the United States over the next four years, up from a $21 billion investment plan announced by Hyundai Chairman Chung Eui-sun in March during a meeting with President Donald Trump.

Hyundai plans to invest in steel, cars and robots. Specifically, the additional $5 billion will be used to build a new robot factory capable of producing 30,000 robots.

Korean Air also announced the purchase of 103 Boeing aircraft and engines from GE Aerospace for a total value of 70 trillion won.

Hanwha Group is also expected to announce plans to invest in additional shipyards in the United States soon. According to information from the US government, Hanwha Ocean plans to invest an additional $70 million (about 100 billion won) in its Philadelphia shipyard.

Samsung Electronics is investing $37 billion (about 51.6 trillion won) to build a semiconductor plant in Taylor, Texas.

LG Group and SK Group are also investing $25 billion and $13 billion in the US, respectively.

On August 26, South Korean and American companies signed a total of 11 contracts and memorandums of understanding (MOUs) related to "production partnerships."

Six memorandums of understanding (MOUs) were signed in strategic industries, including shipbuilding and nuclear power, to establish joint funds, investment and technological cooperation.

In the shipbuilding sector, HD Hyundai and the Korea Development Bank signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with US-based Cerberus Capital to establish the "Joint Investment Program for the Korea-US Shipbuilding Industry."

HD Hyundai plans to acquire and modernize US shipyards, strengthen local supply chains through investments in equipment companies and develop advanced technologies such as autonomous navigation.

Samsung Heavy Industries also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with US-based Vigor Marine Group for maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services for US Navy ships.

Doosan Energy also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP), Amazon Web Services (AWS) and X-Energy to cooperate on small modular reactor (SMR) projects.

The company also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Fermi America, a US energy developer, to cooperate on nuclear power plants and small modular reactors (SMRs).

Korea Zinc also signed a memorandum of understanding with US defense contractor Lockheed Martin on cooperation in the supply and purchase of germanium and the critical minerals supply chain./.

According to VNA

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/30-tap-doan-hang-dau-han-quoc-cam-ket-dau-tu-150-ty-usd-vao-my-259682.htm