VIJAYAWADA: Days after reports quoting Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), a South Korean government body, emerged that Kia Motors is not happy in Andhra Pradesh, KOTRA clarified that Kia enjoys full support of the AP government and hence the automobile company has absolutely no plans to shift its unit to any other destination from Anantapur.
Asian Community News (ACN) Network, a web portal, recently carried an interview with Young Kim Moon, KOTRA president, South-West Asia, in which he was quoted as saying that Kia Motors held talks with the Tamil Nadu government through its sister concern Hyundai and that it was contemplating relocation of its manufacturing plant from Andhra Pradesh to Tamil Nadu.
On Wednesday, the KOTRA’s New Delhi office issued a statement to the ACN saying, “Andhra Pradesh has always been one of the most investor-friendly destinations in the country. We have been informed by Kia Motors India that it has been receiving relentless support from the State government and has absolutely no plans to shift its manufacturing facility to any other destination.”
Further, KOTRA’s statement said that India and South Korea have excellent trade relations and have vowed to take the bilateral trade from the existing $21 billion to $50 billion by 2030. “Almost 100 new Korean companies are coming and investing in India every year as it happened in 2019-20. With many more Korean companies planning to invest in India, we are committed to strengthening our ties even further,” the statement read.