(INCHEON = Newsis) Eight companies located in the Incheon Free Economic Zone (IFEZ) were nominated as Fortune magazine’s “Most Admirable Companies.”

The Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority announced on March 11 that, after focusing on vigorous investment promotion activities, it attracted eight of the 50 companies that were included on the magazine’s annual list of “World’s Most Admired Companies.”

The nominated companies are General Electric, BMW Group, IBM, Johnson & Johnson, Samsung Electronics, Boeing, Cisco Systems Inc. and UPS.

They are known as the “anchor companies” for the region’s IT, service, automobile culture, biopharmaceutical, aerospace and logistics industries, and contribute significantly to the development of IFEZ by running various business activities and inviting business leaders of globally leading companies to the region.

General Electric, IBM and Cisco Systems, Inc. are on a mission to discover new markets. The companies are relying on Korea’s outstanding IT resources and infrastructure to develop new business solutions for information technology outsourcing services and the establishment of a smart city.

Samsung Biologics, the first biopharmaceutical-focused branch of Samsung Group, plans to invest a total of KRW 2.1 trillion in Songdo by 2020 to establish a biopharmaceutical manufacturing plant, carry out biosimilars research and development activities and other contract manufacturing activities.

U.S. healthcare giant Johnson & Johnson acquired Crucell, a global biopharmaceutical company, in 2011. Berna Biotech Korea Corp., the Korean branch of Crucell, manufactures a world-class vaccine and exports more than 90 percent of its products abroad.

The American aerospace company Boeing is set to establish an aviation training center to train highly skilled pilots for the company’s new aircraft and advanced aviation technologies. The facility, which will be located in IFEZ, will house training support staff and 12 full-flight simulators (FFS), each of which costs the company about USD 25 million.

The BMW Group acknowledges the growth potential of the Korean market and attempts to grow the company’s local footprint in Korea by opening Asia’s first driving center on Yeongjong Island in July and entering into a joint venture to establish the BMW Service & Exhibition Center in the Songdo area.

“We are trying to put two or more companies on the Fortune magazine’s list,” said an official of the Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority. “Our focus will be on attracting the local headquarters of global conglomerates and conducting value chain analysis to draw relevant domestic and international industries to IFEZ.”