The SK Innovation logo is seen in front of its headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, February 3, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji/File photo/File photo
WASHINGTON, Jul 26 (Reuters) – President Joe Biden on Tuesday welcomed plans by South Korea’s second-largest conglomerate, SK Group, to pour $22 billion in new investment in the United States into semiconductor, green energy and bioscience projects. .
During a White House meeting with SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, Biden called the investment important.
He said it showed that “the United States, Korea and their allies are back and winning the technological competition” of the 21st century.
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The investments are in semiconductors, green energy and bioscience, “creating tens of thousands of new high-tech, high-paying American jobs,” SK said in a statement. This may interest you : Video game sales set to fall for the first time in years as the industry braces for recession.
They will add to its $7 billion investment to build two new gigafactories in Tennessee and Kentucky as part of a joint venture with Ford Motor (F.N.), it added.
Biden said some 613,000 manufacturing jobs have been created in the United States since he took office. The White House has been eager to emphasize the strength of the labor market amid fears by some of a broader economic downturn.
Company executives and administration officials gathered in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, while Biden appeared virtually from the White House residence as he continues to recover from COVID-19. He said he felt great.
SK Group plans to invest $15 billion in the semiconductor industry through research and development programs, materials, and the creation of an advanced packaging and testing facility.
It will spend another $5 billion on other green energy businesses, including electric vehicle (EV) charging systems, green hydrogen production, battery materials and recycling. In addition, it will invest “several billion dollars” in biotechnologies, the company said in the statement.
The $22 billion announced Tuesday is part of the $52 billion the SK chairman said last year he planned to invest in the United States through 2030.
In May, SK Group said it will invest 247 trillion won ($195.24 billion) in the semiconductor, battery and biopharmaceutical sectors over the next five years in South Korea and abroad. read more
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Reporting by Steve Holland, David Shepardson, Jeff Mason, and Jack Kim; Additional reporting by Heekyong Yang and Joyce Lee; Edited by Andrea Ricci This may interest you : Group health insurance radical, devastating | News, sports, jobs.
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