Biden welcomes SK Group plans to invest $22 billion in U.S. high-tech sectors

The logo of SK Innovation is viewed in front of its headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, February 3, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji/File Photograph/File Picture

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WASHINGTON, July 26 (Reuters) – President Joe Biden on Tuesday welcomed programs from South Korea’s second-major conglomerate SK Group to spend $22 billion in new investments in the United States in semiconductors, environmentally friendly electrical power and bioscience initiatives.

Throughout a conference at the White Household with SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, Biden called the expenditure consequential.

He said it showed that the “United States, Korea and its allies are back and winning the engineering competitiveness” of the 21st century.

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The investments are in semiconductors, eco-friendly electricity, and bioscience, “developing tens of thousands of new higher-tech, substantial-spending American positions,” SK reported in a assertion.

They will occur in addition to its $7 billion investment decision to build two new gigafactories in Tennessee and Kentucky as component of a joint venture with Ford Motor (F.N), it additional.

Biden stated some 613,000 production careers experienced been established in the United States given that he came into business office. The White Dwelling has been eager to emphasize the power of the labor market place amid fears by some of a broader economic downturn.

Company executives and administration officials fulfilled in the White Household Roosevelt Home, although Biden appeared pretty much from the White Home home as he continues to get better from COVID-19. He reported he was emotion good.

SK Team strategies to invest $15 billion in the semiconductor business by means of investigate and enhancement systems, materials, and the development of an state-of-the-art packaging and testing facility.

It will shell out one more $5 billion on other environmentally friendly energy enterprises, which includes electric powered vehicle (EV) charging programs, environmentally friendly hydrogen manufacturing, battery products and recycling. In addition it will make investments ‘several billions of dollars’ in biotechnologies, the company said in the statement.

The $22 billion declared Tuesday is portion of the $52 billion SK’s chairman reported last 12 months it planned to devote in the United States by 2030.

In Might, SK Group said it will spend 247 trillion received ($195.24 billion) in the semiconductor, battery and biopharmaceutical sectors about the upcoming five decades in South Korea and abroad. read far more

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Reporting by Steve Holland, David Shepardson, Jeff Mason and Jack Kim Additional reporting by Heekyong Yang and Joyce Lee Editing by Andrea Ricci

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