Daewoo denies £700m project

THE South Korean group, Daewoo, yesterday denied weekend reports that it was planning to build a £700 million microchip plant…

THE South Korean group, Daewoo, yesterday denied weekend reports that it was planning to build a £700 million microchip plant in Northern Ireland with the US company Texas Instruments.

Daewoo Corporation officials said the semi conductor business belonged to Daewoo Electronics and a spokesman for that company denied the report in the Sunday Times.

"We have been considering advancing into the semiconductor industry but nothing has been decided so far. We are looking at many possibilities. But we are still at a very early stage, the Daewoo spokesman, Mr Park Sung-il said.

According to the report South Korean groups are expected to announce investments in Britain worth £2.2 billion and creating up to 10,000 jobs in the next few weeks. The new jobs at the Daewoo/Texas plant would compensate for the 1,000 jobs at risk at Shorts in Belfast following the Fokker collapse.

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There has been speculation in the market for some time that Daewoo was planning a new operation in Britain. Speculation has centred on a Northern Ireland location because Daewoo already has a plant in Ant rim which makes video recorders.