The investment registration certificates handover ceremony for SK Group to US$500 million in a high-tech biodegradable materials plant in Hải Phòng. Photo courtesy of the firm

HẢI PHÒNG - South Korea’s second-largest conglomerate is investing US$500 million in a high-tech biodegradable materials plant in the northern city of Hải Phòng, 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 Hải Phòng, the Hải Phòng 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 a total investment capital of $500 million. The project aims to produce biodegradable materials PBAT, PBS, and PBATS. The project covers an area of 32,089 sq.m, located in the CN5.5G2 land lot, DEEP C Hải Phòng I Industrial Zone (in the Đình Vũ - Cát Hải 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 tonnes of products per year, and after expanding to phase two, it will be 70,000 tonnes per year.

Woncheo Zone, CEO of SKC Group (a member 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 Việt Nam for five years now, with a scale of about $3 billion. Currently, Hải Phòng is one of the cities with modern infrastructure and strong 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 Hải Phòng. At the same time, we have fulfilled the commitment signed with the city this June. We will continue to encourage more Korean businesses to invest in Hải Phòng. In the future, we hope our development will contribute to local growth.”

Koen Soenens, General Sales and Marketing Director of DEEP C Industrial Zones, said that the significance of SKC Group's large-scale high-tech ecological investment project at the DEEP C Hải Phòng Complex should not be underestimated. This is a crucial milestone in developing Việt Nam's economy and moving towards a more sustainable future. Two ESG business leaders, ECOVANCE and DEEP C, are collaborating to successfully develop the first biodegradable materials factory in Southeast Asia. Together, the two parties will establish Hải Phòng as the high-tech and eco-business centre in Northern Hải Phòng.

“The ECOVANCE project also emphasises 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 collaborate to craft a more sustainable future,” he added.

A view of DEEP C Industrial Zone in Hải Phòng. Photo courtesy of the firm

In addition to the above project, DEEP C’s industrial zones in Hải Phòng also welcome four other projects. These include: an investment expansion project for the construction of warehouses and storage tanks by Soft Industry Co Ltd from Japan, which increased capital by $15.2 million; Daimay Investment's project from Hong Kong to produce spare parts and accessories for cars with a new grant of $15 million; the warehouses and storage tanks project of Top Solvent Vietnam Co Ltd from Thailand, which increased capital by $12.8 million; and the optical equipment manufacturing project by GoodWe Singapore with a new grant of $10 million. Consequently, the total increased investment capital into DEEP C amounts to $553 million.

All of these projects hail from countries that possess a high level of industrialisation, advanced production technologies, and modern management skills and capacity, all in alignment with the world's criteria for environmentally friendly production.

Lê Trung Kiên, Head of the Hải Phòng Economic Zone Authority, commented that the trend towards producing high-tech, environmentally friendly products is the predominant industry trend today. South Korea is among the leading nations in Asia and the world in investment and high-tech industrial production. The projects undertaken in Hải Phòng are set to introduce many applications of new, modern, and leading technologies to the city's industrial production. Concurrently, they will enhance the skills of the city's workforce, establish R&D centres, and augment budget collection.