South Korea’s SK Group to announce $22bn in US investments

WASHINGTON: South Korea’s huge SK Group will announce $22 billion in new investments in the United States ahead of a meeting Tuesday between the conglomerate’s chief and President Joe Biden, the White House said.

“In the lead up to a virtual meeting with President Biden and his team, Republic of Korea conglomerate SK Group will announce $22 billion in new investments in US manufacturing,” a spokesman said.

No details were given on the timing or nature of the deals. The White House said only that Biden’s video meeting with SK Group would “discuss the company’s robust investments in American manufacturing and jobs.”

According to the 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.