Cisco to Invest $2 Billion Here
Cisco Systems, the world's largest networking equipment maker, will invest $2 billion in South Korea over the next five years in efforts to expand its Northeast Asian business, Cheong Wa Dae said Tuesday.
At a meeting with President Lee Myung-bak at Cheong Wa Dae, Cisco Chairman and CEO John Chambers said his firm plans to spend $2 billion in building a research center here and investing in promising Korean venture firms. The chairman is expected to announce the plan as early as today at a press conference in Seoul.
Cisco's investment in Korea bodes well for the Lee administration's plan to make the country a regional financial and business center. President Lee thanked Chambers for ``making a difficult decision'' at a time when the world is suffering a recession, saying Cisco's investment will help Seoul attract global investors, a Cheong Wa Dae spokesman said.
The U.S.-based firm has already committed to investing about $1 billion to build its Asia-Pacific research headquarters in Songdo, Incheon.
Cisco has agreed with the city to jointly develop the Incheon Free Economic Zone (IFEZ), now under construction on the western coast on reclaimed land three times larger than Manhattan.
``President Lee and Chairman Chambers discussed a wide range of issues, including Korea's plan to nurture `green growth' industries and build nature-friendly urban facilities,'' the presidential office said.
``Chambers expressed keen interest in Korea's `green growth' vision and promised to become a key partner. The chairman said Korea is headed in the right direction for future sustainable growth,'' the presidential office said.
Chambers said his firm has decided to invest in Korea because the country has a firm resolution to become a global leader in green technologies and its people are capable enough to achieve the goal.
In Songdo, the firm will build ``U-City Global Center'' for its global operations. The U-City project is a new business sector for Cisco.
According to Incheon Mayor Ahn Sang-soo, by 2014, the IFEZ will become a home to Northeast Asian headquarters of more than 300 foreign companies, 30 international organizations and 15 foreign universities' extended campuses.
``Harmonized with cultural attractions and a clean environment, the free economic zone is expected to draw 20 million foreign tourists per year, making it one of the world's top 10 cities by 2020,'' Ahn said in a recent interview with The Korea Times.