○ Completion of work for the factory of British business IMI in Dang-dong, Paju
○ Carrying out the investment pledged in the MOU signed with the Gyeonggi Province in 2012
○ The first result of the efforts made by the Gyeonggi Provincial Government for the improvement of the existing system

The efforts made by the Gyeonggi Provincial Government to attract foreign investment bore fruit in the form of construction of a $20 million factory in a foreign industrial complex in Dang-dong, Paju.

Gyeonggi Provincial Government said on March 31 that IMI, a British business, completed the work for said factory, producing high-end valves used at power stations or petrochemical facilities by investing $20 million (=20.4 billion won).

IMI CCI Korea was established in Gimpo in 1996. It has imported large-sized industrial valves produced in Switzerland and Sweden, but it can now reduce logistics expenses and customs duties with the completion of the factory in Paju.

IMI CCI Korea plans to expand its supply of valves to large-sized industrial plants in Korea and its export to markets worldwide. The Gyeonggi Provincial Government expects the new factory to create 35-plus jobs.

□ Gyeonggi Provincial Government’s efforts lead to IMI CCI Korea’s additional investment

The completion of the work for IMI CCI Korea’s factory in Paju is particularly meaningful since it is the first result of the efforts made by the Gyeonggi Provincial Government for the improvement of the existing system. 

In June 2012, the Gyeonggi Provincial Government asked the Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Energy for the improvement of the Foreign Investment Operation Guidelines, saying that the guidelines focusing on new investment were blocking foreign investors’ additional investment in the country.

Under the current regulations at the time, a foreign-invested business in Korea was not allowed to move to a foreign industrial complex. In September of the same year, The central government accepted the Gyeonggi Provincial Government’s recommendation that such move should be permitted in the case of additional investment. 

As a result of the improvement in the system, IMI CCI Korea, which was operating a factory in Gimpo, decided to invest $20 million additionally and move to the Foreign Industrial Complex in Paju through an MOU signed with the Gyeonggi Province in November of the same year.

“We feel deeply grateful to the Gyeonggi Provincial Government for its assistance in enabling us to make additional investment and expand the business in Korea,” President Seo Jeong-deok of IMI CCI Korea said on the day of completion of work for the factory. 

Commenting on the matter, a Gyeonggi-do official said that this is a successful case of the efforts they made to improve the administrative system to help businesses make investment freely.

Established in Birmingham in 1862, IMI (Imperial Metal Industries) is currently one of the top 100 enlisted businesses in the United Kingdom. Its annual sales come to about 4 trillion won (in 2011). IMI CCI Korea records sales worth 100 billion won (in 2012) and hires 200 employees.