On July 17, the Gyeonggi Province delegation headed by Governor Kim Moon-soo pulled off a success in securing an investment decision from two Japanese businesses on the first day of its visit to Japan.

At 2:30 PM on July 17, Gyeonggi Governor Kim Moon-soo signed an agreement for investment worth USD 30 million with Vice President Yoshihisa Matsumoto of Idemitsu Kosan at the said business’s headquarters in Tokyo. The said agreement concerns an increase in the Japanese business’s investment in the existing factory in Dang-dong, Paju.

Commenting on the agreement, a Gyeonggi Province official in charge of investment promotion said, “Idemitsu Kosan is located in the Foreign Industrial Complex in Paju, Gyeonggi Province. Its decision to increase its investment amount is for enhancing its production capacity in the expectation of there being an increase in the demand for next-generation luminescent materials for OLEDs.”

In his speech at the said event, Mr. Yoshihisa Matsumoto said, “This is the second agreement that we have signed with the Gyeonggi Provincial Office after the first one that we signed in 2012. The Paju factory, which was built last year, started its mass production of OLEDs this year. We decided to increase our investment amount, as we expect that there will be an increase in the demand for the goods made in that factory. We regard the Paju factory as being the major foothold of our OLED business. We hope that the Gyeonggi Provincial Office will continue to provide a significant amount of support for our business in South Korea.”

In his speech, Governor Kim Moon-soo said, “We thank Idemitus Kosan for its decision to increase its investment in our province. We expect that the company’s world-class technology will contribute to the development of the relevant domestic industry. It is hoped that the investment will help the company develop further. We will provide all the support possible for the company’s business in our country.”

Governor Kim Moon-soo signed another investment agreement worth USD 10 million with President Junya Suzuki of Nissha Printing in a ceremony that was held at the said company’s headquarters in Tokyo at 4:00 PM of the same day, with President Lee Seong-cheol of S-Mac Korea and President Ryu Ji-hong of NS-Tech in attendance.

NS-Tech, which is an electromagnetic sensor manufacturer, is a joint venture in which Nissha Printing and S-Mac Korea have a 49% and 51% equity share, respectively. It was established in April 2012 at the Eoyeon-Hansan Industrial Complex in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province. The Japanese company plans to invest USD 10 million in NS-Tech over the next five years, which is expected to create an additional 210 jobs.

Nissha Printing President Junya Suzuki, S-Mac Korea President Lee Seong-cheol, and NS-Tech President Ryu Ji-hong said that the manufacturing of smartphone touch screens has a great potential for development and they stated that they would do their best to increase exports and create more jobs in Korea.

Governor Kim Moon-soo said, “NS-Tech’s touch screen business is going a long way in pushing the South Korean economy forward. We feel grateful for Nissha Printing’s decision to invest in our province. We will do what we can to help the company further develop.”

Meanwhile, the Gyeonggi Province delegation held an IR session at the Palace Hotel Tokyo on the evening of the same day, inviting those involved in information technology associations and staff from the The Sangyo Times. Attendees included: Vice Chairmen Haruhiko Yamamoto and Keitaro Iwaki of the Japan Electronics Packaging and Circuits Association (JPCA), Vice Chairman Kazuki Sato of the Japan Semiconductor Ventures Association (JASVA), and Editor-in-Chief Akihiro Tsumura ofThe Sangyo Times.

The JPCA, which was established in 1962, is the only organization for electronic circuits manufacturers in Japan and has 381 member businesses. The JASVA (established in 2000) has 128 businesses, financial institutions, and government agencies associated with semiconductor and display sectors carrying out activities as its members. The Sangyo Times (established in 1967) is a newspaper that specializes in focusing on manufacturers. It publishes five newspapers that specialize in parts and materials related to information technology, semiconductors, displays, energy, and batteries. Its total circulation totals 300,000 copies. The newspaper also took part in the IR session that was held by the Gyeonggi Provincial Office in Tokyo last May.

The Gyeonggi Province delegation was also briefed on the current situation of the Japanese electronics industry during their stay in Japan.