A multi-million pound investment by a Far Eastern electronics firm is expected to create about 150 jobs in west Belfast, it was disclosed yesterday. The company is expected to take over a site on the Springbank Industrial Estate in Poleglass.

The presence in Northern Ireland of five Korean firms, including Daewoo and tool manufacturer YG-1, is thought to have clinched the deal for the Industrial Development Board which is understood to have beaten off fierce competition from across Europe to secure the deal. A spokesman for the IDB refused to comment saying: "It is our policy not to comment on speculation about possible new inward investments."