The Busan Port, located in the Busan-Jinhae area and handling 80% of total Korean container volume, has become the third largest transshipment container facility in the world. By January 2006, the Busan Port will be home to a new 30-berth container port to accommodate expanding traffic. This area is also home to a growing number of manufacturing and industrial companies. This growth has prompted a delegation representing the Busan-Jinhae Free Economic Zone (BJFEZ), Busan Port Authority (BPA) and the Korea International Trade Association (KITA) to host the First Busan North American Investment Forum, in New York on June 14 to showcase trade and investment opportunities in Korea's second largest city.
About 9,000 small and medium-sized companies have their production bases in Gyeongnam, along with large multinational companies who have divisions here as well. The shipbuilding and heavy industry factories of Samsung group, the home appliances and elevator plants of LG, the automobile & parts plants of Hyundai, the shipbuilding and passenger car factories of GM Daewoo and the heavy machinery plants of Doosan are all located in the province. Last year the Renault Group announced a $500 million investment into its existing Renault-Samsung auto manufacturing facilities located within the BJFEZ boundaries. Additionally companies including Sony, Nokia, Volvo, Scania, Remy, Delphi, Siemens and Bosch operate plants in this province.
In August a science park for R&D centers will open as well as an area for manufacturing industries. Since its establishment in March 2004, the Busan-Jinhae Free Economic Zone Authority has induced a total of $1.1 billion into the development of the Free Economic Zone.
To register to attend the First Busan North American Investment Forum visit http://www.kwrintl.com/busan
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