DGFEZ Authority announced a joint venture between UGint Co. Ltd (Korea), EastBridge Partners (Cayman Islands), and Dallah Albraka Group (Saudi Arabia) that will see the Daegu “Star Company” move into Daegu Gyeongbuk Free Economic Zone Technopolis District and begin production in late 2014.

 

UGint Co. Ltd. is a rising company based in Daegu Metropolitan City. It was previously recognized by Daegu Metropolitan City as a “Star company – World Class 300”, which is awarded to companies with the potential to perform on a global scale. UGint produces tapping centers, and numerical control machine tools that manufacture products such as mobile phone cases. Its clients include Apple, Foxconn, Samsung Electronics and Hyundai Motor affiliates. UGint has a production capacity of 350 tools per month, which makes it the largest (within its sector) in Korea and the 7th largest in the world.

 

EastBridge Fund (Asian Mid-Market Opportunity Fund, L.P.) is a USD 342 million privately-placed funds company based out of the Cayman Islands. Its partner, Dallah Albaraka Group (Saudi Arabia) is one of the Middle East’s top 5 companies with an annual revenue of USD 24 billion, and 30 affiliate companies in fields such as finance, construction, engineering and healthcare.

 

During the MOU ceremony, DGFEZ Authority Commissioner Choi Byung-Rok said “This joint venture will allow UGint to increase its production rate to 600 tools per month and become one of the world’s top 3 tapping center manufacturers, and at the same time, create jobs and lead the development of the mechatronics technology.” He added, “Because Daegu has numerous companies with high potential for growth, there could be further opportunities for investment.”

 

Construction of the core infrastructure of Daegu Technopolis is 95% complete and it will be fully functional by the end of 2013. Three R&D institutes (DGIST, ETRI, KITECH) are already fully operationally and KIMM (Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials) will open shortly. Of the 76 companies that have purchased land within Technopolis, Three companies including Hyundai IHL and Nakamura Tome Precision Industry are already operating and 20 businesses are constructing factories.

 

 < Investment Summary > 

• Size of Investment : Approximately USD 70 million (FDI 50 million USD)

• Land Size: 50,000- 56,000 square meters (15,000-17,000 pyeong)

• Jobs Created: 235

• Product : numerical control machine tool machining center (tapping center)

• Time Frame: 2013 ~ 2018

 

 

 Source : DGFEZ Investment Strategy Team