Kumho to act as a magnet for investors in Thai Nguyen

According to Thai Nguyen Provincial People’s Committee, Kumho Asiana Group representatives visited the province to express interest in this project in early August.

“Kumho wants to join hands with Yen Binh Corporation to develop infrastructure of Yen Binh complex,” said Nguyen Duc Minh, director of Thai Nguyen Provincial Department of Planning and Investment, adding that Kumho highly valued investment potential in this project and would soon make a final decision.

Yen Binh complex, located in Pho Yen and Phu Binh districts – about 36 kilometres north of Hanoi, covers 8,000 hectares, comprising a 1,500ha township, a 1,200ha industrial park and a 1,700ha agriculture park.

This is a very important project in Thai Nguyen that is expected to help boost the province’s economic development.

Yen Binh Corporation has completed the 1/2000 master plan for the complex. It also signed agreement with Vietnam Urban and Industrial Zone Development Investment Corporation for developing the industrial park in the complex. Meanwhile, TSQ Finance Group also planned to develop a 36-hole golf course in Yen Binh complex.

If Kumho decided to invest in this complex, Minh said many foreign investors would follow the South Korean group to invest there.

“Kumho is a well-known brand. When it makes investment here, I believe many foreign investors will change their mind about Thai Nguyen’s investment climate,” said Minh.

Kumho started doing business in Vietnam from when Kumho Asiana Airlines opened direct flight linking Ho Chi Minh City and Seoul in 1993. The group is running a $200 million tire plant in southern Binh Duong province’s My Phuoc Industrial Park. And it is going to invest additional $100 million into this plant at the end of this year.

Besides the tire plant, the group also developed a property project named Kumho Asiana Plaza in Ho Chi Minh City. This project, situated in the second city’s downtown District 1, was put into operation in 2008, comprising hotel, office building, shopping mall and residential apartments.

During the visit to Vietnam in June, Kumho Asiana Group chairman Sam-Koo Park said the group wanted to further expand investment in Vietnam, especially in the fields of manufacturing and property.