Saudi Arabia signs investment deals worth about $30 billion with South Korean firms

SEOUL CAIRO Saudi Arabia has signed investment agreements worth around $30 billion with South Korean companies, Saudi-based Asharq TV quoted the kingdom's investment minister as saying on Thursday.

The agreements coincide with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's visit to Asia's fourth-largest economy, where South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol is scheduled to hold talks later in the day.

South Korea's industry ministry said on Thursday that over 20 agreements with companies including Samsung C&T Corp and POSCO Holdings Inc have been signed with Saudi counterparts in areas such as energy cooperation, railways, chemicals, pharmaceuticals and gaming.

Asharq TV quoted the Saudi Venture Capital Company as saying it had agreed to establish seven specialized funds.

The agreement was signed by Korea Electric Power Corp. KEPCO and four other Korean firms with the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund to build and operate a hydrogen and ammonia production plant in the Saudi kingdom.

A source who was not authorised to speak with media on the matter said the project will be worth about $6.5 billion and was not authorized to be named.

The plant is expected to produce 1.2 million tons of green hydrogen and ammonia annually, according to KEPCO. The Yonhap news agency reported on Thursday that it will be built over 2025 -- 2029 and will operate for 20 years.

Another pact is Hyundai Rotem Co's Memorandum of Understanding with Saudi Arabia to cooperate on a railway project for the Middle Eastern country's $500 billion NEOM economic zone, the ministry said. It didn't reveal the potential dollar amount of the agreement.

South Korea's trade minister, Lee Chang-yang, said that the South Korean government will support the successful implementation of cooperative projects that use Korea's state-of-the-art architecture in NEOM smart city.

Hyundai Rotem shares increased by 8.5 per cent, compared to a 1.1 per cent drop in the wider market. Shares in Lotte Fine Chemical, which signed an agreement for chemical industry cooperation with the Saudi Ministry of Investment, rose 2.1 per cent.

S-Oil Corp, whose largest shareholder is Saudi Arabian Oil Co Saudi Aramco, plans to invest a total of 9.3 trillion won $7.0 billion in its Ulsan factory to produce more high-value petrochemical products.