SK Group to pour USD 500 million into DEEP C Haiphong

South Korea’s second largest conglomerate is investing USD 500 million in a high-tech biodegradable materials plant in Haiphong, the first of its kind in South East Asia.

At the recent Conference on granting Investment Registration Certificates for investment projects in industrial zones (IZs) and economic zones (EZs) in Haiphong, the Haiphong Economic Zone Authority (HEZA) granted a new investment registration certificate to the ECOVANCE high-tech biodegradable materials factory project of SK Group (South Korea) with total investment capital of USD 500 million. The project has the goal of producing biodegradable materials PBAT, PBS, and PBATS. The project covers an area of 32,089 square meters located in the CN5.5G2 land lot, DEEP C Haiphong I Industrial Zone (in the Dinh Vu - Cat Hai Economic Zone). Phase 1 of the Project will start construction in mid-December 2023 and complete construction in nine months. It is expected that by the end of this year, the project capacity will reach about 35,000 tons of products per year, and after expanding phase two, it will be 70,000 tons per year.

Mr. Woncheo Zone, CEO of SKC Group (part of SK Group) said: “SK Group was founded in 1953, with main areas of activity including Energy and chemicals, Telecommunications, Semiconductors and materials, Pharmaceuticals and Logistics services. We have invested in Vietnam for five years now with a scale of about USD 3 billion. Currently, Haiphong is one of the cities with modern infrastructure and good investment attraction mechanisms, which is why we decided to invest here. SKC is a leading Korean enterprise and possesses advanced technologies, so we decided to bring them here to produce biodegradable materials and lay the foundation for our first investment in Haiphong. At the same time, we have fulfilled the commitment signed with the city this June. We will continue to call for more Korean businesses to invest in Haiphong. In the future, we hope our development will contribute to local growth.”

Mr. Koen Soenens, General Sales and Marketing Director of DEEP C Industrial Zones, said that the importance of SKC Group's large-scale high-tech ecological investment project at the DEEP C Haiphong Complex cannot be underestimated. This is an important milestone in developing Vietnam's economy and moving towards a more sustainable future. Two ESG business leaders, ECOVANCE and DEEP C, are working together to successfully develop the first biodegradable materials factory in Southeast Asia. Together, the two sides will put Haiphong on the map as the High-Tech and Eco-Business Center in Northern Vietnam.

The ECOVANCE project also demonstrates the growing importance of ESG factors in business decision making. Investors and consumers are increasingly demanding that companies take responsibility for their environmental and social impact. The ECOVANCE and DEEP C projects illustrate how businesses can work together to create a more sustainable future.”

In addition to the above project, DEEP C’s industrial zones in Haiphong also welcomes four other projects, including: Investment expansion project on construction of warehouses and storage tanks of Soft Industry Co., Ltd., Japan (increased capital by USD 15.2 million); Daimay Investment's project to produce spare parts and accessories for cars, Hong Kong (new grant of USD 15 million); the warehouses and storage tanks project of Top Solvent Vietnam Co., Ltd. (Thailand) which increased capital by USD 12.8 million; and optical equipment manufacturing project of GoodWe Singapore (new grant of USD 10 million). As such, the total increased investment capital into DEEP C is 553 million USD

All of these projects are from countries with a very high level of industrialization, with advanced production technologies, and modern management skills and capacity, meeting world's criteria of environmentally friendly production.

Mr. Le Trung Kien, Head of Haiphong Economic Zone Authority, said that the trend of producing high-tech, environmentally friendly products is the main trend of the industry today. South Korea is one of the leading countries in Asia and the world in the fields of investment and high-tech industrial production. Projects implemented in Haiphong will contribute to bringing many applications of new, modern, and leading technology in the world to the City's industrial production. At the same time, they will help improve the skills of the City's human resources, form R&D centers and generate budget collection.

Source: Vietnam Business Forum