Invest KOREA

According to Yonhap News,

(SEOUL = Yonhap News)

BASF, the world's largest chemicals firm by sales, said Friday it plans to open a new research and development center in South Korea next year.

The facility, to be based in Sungkyunkwan University in Suwon near Seoul, will serve as an integrated hub for electronic materials research in the Asia-Pacific, BASF said.

The company said about 40 scientific and technical professionals will work at the new center, which it said will offer a wide range of innovative solutions for the electronics value chains.

Lothar Laupichler, senior vice president of electronics materials at BASF, said his company will be able to combine its international expertise in electronic materials with the latest advances from top research scientists.

"This in turn will translate into fast, market-driven innovations for our customers," said Laupichler, according to BASF.

The comment came as BASF signed a letter of intent on Thursday in Brussels in the presence of South Korean Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, Yoon Sang-jick.

Kim Jun-young, the head of Sungkyunkwan University, said the collaboration will support scientific advancement as well as create benefit for both partners, according to BASF.

Sungkyunkwan University is financially supported by Samsung Group, South Korea's largest family-controlled conglomerate with Samsung Electronics Co. under its wing.

entropy@yna.co.kr

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