President Joe Biden on Tuesday hailed progress in the US bid to revamp its 21st century economy after huge South Korean group SK announced a $22 billion investment in US semiconductor and other cutting edge industries.
“This pathbreaking announcement represents clear evidence that the United States, Korea, and its allies are back and winning the technology competition of the 21st century,” Biden said in a virtual meeting at the White House with the top executives from SK Group, South Korea’s second largest conglomerate.
“America is the key destination for advanced technologies,” he added, stressing that the investment signaled success for his broader policy of “working with our allies.”
The announcement came just before the meeting where Biden, who is recovering from a Covid infection, appeared on video, while SK Chairman Chey Tae-won joined other executives and senior White House officials in person.
The conglomerate said in a statement it plans to “increase its new investment in the United States by $22 billion in areas including semiconductors, green energy, and bioscience, creating tens of thousands of new high-tech, high-paying American jobs.”
“This is in addition to SK’s recently announced investment of $7 billion to build two new gigafactories in Tennessee and Kentucky as part of a joint venture with Ford Motor Company,” the statement said.
According to a White House spokesman, SK Group’s growing commitment reflects a push to rebuild US-based manufacturing and supply chains, which have been severely disrupted by fallout from the global COVID-19 pandemic shutdowns.
“From the beginning of his administration, President Biden has focused on an American industrial strategy to rebuild our infrastructure and our supply chains here at home, drawing good-paying manufacturing jobs back to America,” the spokesman said.
“This announcement by SK Group is also another proof point of the success of the administration’s efforts to create more resilient and secure supply chains and outcompete the rest of the world in the technologies of the future,” he added.
The Department of Commerce says that foreign investment reached nearly $334 billion in 2021, the peak since 2016. Manufacturing accounted for the biggest share of any industry, at $121 billion.
The Biden administration is pushing Congress to quickly pass a proposed $52 billion subsidy package for boosting domestic semiconductor manufacturers, warning that reliance on foreign producers amounts to a national security risk.
Speaking Monday to senior economic and national security staff, as well as representatives from manufacturers and a trade union, Biden said government backing for domestic producers means the United States will “be able to stay in the game.”
“Congress must pass this bill as soon as possible,” he said, citing both the economic and national security “imperative” of securing production of the tiny components needed for everything from smart phones to cars and weapons.
Korea Electric Power Corp., a South Korean state-owned energy generation group, said Wednesday it is in the second round of…
AREIT Inc., the pioneer real estate investment trust company in the Philippines, said Wednesday it obtained the Securities and Exchange…
The domestic banking industry is expected to remain stable in the next two years as the economy’s sustained resilience amid…
CATS Group of Companies, the leading distributor of luxury vehicles in the Philippines, plans to introduce electronic vehicles across brands…
Pag-IBIG Fund released a record P117.85 billion in home loans to finance the construction of over 100,000 housing units of…
The US-based Semiconductor Industry Association paid a visit to the Board of Investments to share investment prospects and business opportunities…
The Department of Justice has dismissed for lack of evidence the murder complaint against 17 policemen implicated in the death…
The investigation of the technical glitch that led to the total shut-off of the Communication, Navigation and Surveillance/Air Traffic Management…
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has nominated former Presidential Management Staff head Zenaida Angping as the country’s ambassador to France, with…
There’s no such thing as a free lunch, we’re constantly reminded by economists, telling us in no uncertain terms that…
“Maybe the DA secretary should now give way to men with more time and the energy required to steer the…
Manila Standard website (manilastandard.net), launched in August 2002, extends the newspaper’s reach beyond its traditional readers and makes its brand of Philippine news and opinion available to a much wider and geographically diverse readership here and overseas.
In tone and content, the online edition mirrors the editorial thrust of the newspaper. While hewing to the traditional precepts of fairness and objectivity, MS believes the news of the day need not be staid, overly long or dry. Stories are succinct, readable and written in a lively style that has become a hallmark of the newspaper.
Download – Today’s Paper
6th Floor Universal Re Bldg., 106 Paseo De Roxas cor. Perea Street, Legaspi Village, 1226 Makati City Philippines
Trunklines: 832-5554, 832-5556, 832-5558
© 2021 Manila Standard – Designed and Developed by Neitiviti Studios.
© 2021 Manila Standard – Designed and Developed by Neitiviti Studios.
Login to your account below
Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.
