TWO years into his overseas assignment to expand the hydrogen energy business in China, Oh Seung-chan, from South Korea, is pleased that his work and life have gone smoothly.

In 2021, Hyundai Motor Group set up its first overseas hydrogen fuel cell system project in Guangzhou and registered the company HTWO Guangzhou Co.

The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area is one of the most important economic and manufacturing bases in China. The comprehensive automobile and chemical industrial chains here provide ideal conditions for the development of the hydrogen fuel cell industry, noted Oh, head of HTWO Guangzhou.

HTWO Guangzhou expects to complete the construction of relevant facilities, including a fuel cell system plant, an innovation center, and a research and development center, and realize the mass production of hydrogen fuel cell systems by the end of 2022.

“There is a vast market and excellent enterprises in the industrial chain. The local government has an open and cooperative attitude towards foreign-funded enterprises and fully supports project construction and foreign talents coming to China. These factors have encouraged Hyundai Motor Group to do business here,” Oh said.

In 2021, the trade between Guangdong Province and South Korea was 456.4 billion yuan (US$68.6 billion), up 17.5% year on year, according to data from the Guangdong Sub-administration of the General Administration of Customs of China.

In addition to investments by big companies such as LG Display, Samsung Display and POSCO, more than 1,400 small and medium-sized South Korea-funded enterprises also carry out businesses in Guangdong.

Despite the headwinds of the COVID-19 epidemic, ROK enterprises are still sanguine about investing in Guangdong.

By the end of 2021, Guangdong had attracted 3,837 investment projects from South Korea, with a total contracted foreign investment of US$9.7 billion and a foreign direct investment of US$7.5 billion, in actual use, the Guangdong commerce department said. (Xinhua)