[韓-사우디 경제협력]
Korea-Saudi Arabia, additional investment agreement worth 21 trillion won
Lee Jae-yong, Chung Eui-sun, Kim Dong-kwan, etc. accompanied by CEOs… Samsung C&T establishes modular housing joint venture
Dohwa Engineering and Jajalgang jointly develop
Hyundai Motor Company is establishing an electric vehicle production plant in Saudi Arabia for the first time in the Middle East. HD Korea Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering is building Saudi Arabia’s largest shipyard and ship engine factory together with Saudi Arabia’s state-run oil company Aramco.
At the Korea-Saudi Investment Forum held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on the 22nd (local time), public institutions and companies from both countries signed 40 investment agreements (MOUs) and 6 contracts. Attending the forum on this day were President Yoon Seok-yeol, Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong, Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Eui-sun, Hanwha Group Vice Chairman Kim Dong-kwan, GS Group Chairman Heo Tae-soo, and HD Hyundai President Jung Ki-sun, as well as heads of major groups. Including today’s investment forum and the ’50th anniversary of construction cooperation event’ held the next day, 51 MOUs and contracts for exports and orders worth approximately $15.6 billion will be signed during President Yoon’s visit to Saudi Arabia. Choi Sang-mok, Senior Secretary to the President for Economic Affairs, said at a local briefing on the day, “The key areas of cooperation at this Korea-Saudi Investment Forum are high-tech manufacturing, new industries, and clean hydrogen development, which will help both countries in the process of transitioning to a ‘Middle East 2.0’ based on decarbonization.” “It will be the starting point for cooperation between companies,” he said.
First, in the high-tech manufacturing sector, Hyundai Motor Company and Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund signed a joint venture worth about 400 million dollars (about 540 billion won) to build an automobile assembly plant in the King Abdullah Economic Complex. This is the first electric vehicle production base for a Korean company in the Middle East, and the goal is to mass produce 50,000 electric vehicles and internal combustion engine vehicles annually starting in 2026. HD Korea Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering and Aramco are also building Saudi Arabia’s largest joint shipyard and marine engine factory. In the new industry, cooperation MOUs were signed in various fields such as digital, medical, robots, smart farm, tourism, and beauty. A domestic startup developing kitchen automation robots signed an MOU with a Saudi food and beverage company to supply kitchen robots and technology worth 5 billion won. The smart farm startup signed three MOUs worth about $5 million with Saudi agricultural product growers and distributors.
An investment agreement related to Neom City, with a total project cost of $500 billion, is also being promoted. Samsung C&T establishes a modular joint venture with the Saudi Ministry of Investment (MISA). The goal is to build houses in ‘Oksagon’, a high-tech industrial complex in Neom City, using modular construction. DL E&C signed a memorandum of understanding on desalination plant cooperation with the Saudi Desalination Agency. Dohwa Engineering is embarking on joint development of the Jajal River basin with Saudi Arabian Saab Holdings. Last month, a delegation from the Saudi Neom government visited Dohwa Engineering’s headquarters and discussed ways to cooperate to participate in Saudi water treatment and waste projects.
Hyundai Engineering & Construction is conducting investment cooperation in the real estate and infrastructure fields with the Saudi Ministry of Investment. Previously, in 2021, together with Hyundai Engineering, it won an order for the Jafra gas processing facility project worth 2 trillion won ordered by Saudi state-run oil company Aramco, and recently began winning an order for the second phase of the Jafra gas field construction.
SPC Group, which participated in the ceremony as an economic mission, signed a joint venture MOU with Galadari Brothers Group, a leading local company, for the bakery brand Paris Baguette to enter the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia. Nongshim signed an MOU in the form of a consortium with Saudi Green House, a leading local agricultural product cultivation and distribution company, to build a K-Smart Farm pilot complex in the Middle East.
In addition, the two leaders also discussed follow-up measures to the 26 MOUs worth $29 billion signed in November last year. At that time, the two countries signed an MOU including the S-Oil ‘Shaheen Project’ worth 9.3 trillion won. Chief Choi said, “Follow-up measures are in progress for 60% of the MOUs signed in November last year,” adding, “Korea has manufacturing capabilities, advanced technology, and experience in developing the industry in a short period of time, so Saudi Arabia considers us the optimal partner.” “He said.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.