Invest KOREA

(SUWON=NEWSIS) IMI, a British large-valve manufacturer, completed construction of a USD 20 million plant on March 31 in the Dangdong foreign-invested industrial complex in Paju, Gyeonggi Province.

The plant is a fruit – the first, in fact – of a revised system for attracting foreign-invested companies in Gyeonggi Province.

IMI, which produces large valves for power plants and the petrochemical industry, established IMI CCI Korea in Gimpo in 1996 and has been supplying Swiss- and Swedish-made large industrial valves to Korea.

The plant in Paju will help IMI to reduce extra expenses, including logistics costs and tariffs, and enter not only Korea’s large-scale plant market, but also the global market.

The province requested that the government revise the Foreign Investment Zone Operation Guideline in June of 2012, as it prevents foreign investors from investing more in the region.

The government accepted the province’s request to amend the guideline so that foreign-invested companies that have increased their investment can relocate their plants to or build their plants in industrial complexes for foreign investors.

Following the government’s revision of the guideline, the province signed a business agreement with IMI to build a plant in Paju in November, 2012.

IMI, established in 1862, is one of the top 100 listed companies in the UK. Sales reached KRW 4 trillion in 2011. IMI CCI Korea has 200 workers and recorded sales of KRW 100 billion in 2012.

"It was tough for us to receive more investment from headquarters with the existing system. Thanks to the efforts of the province, we can now obtain more investment and carry out new projects," said IMI CCI Korea CEO Seo Jeong-deok.

jayoo2000@newsis.com