Seoul Attracts Investment of USD 110 Million from Four Newly Emerging North American Companies

The first Asia-based studio of the global innovative enterprise, Scanline VFX (“Scanline”), that shared in the production of visual effects (VFX) of large-scale Hollywood films, like The Avengers and Aquaman, will open its doors at the Sangam DMC R&D Center in Seoul this year. Scanline, with studios in Vancouver, Canada, Los Angeles, U.S., and Munich, Germany, made the decision to open its Asia-based studio in Seoul following positive response by the city, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, and KOTRA, during Scanline’s examination for the opening of an additional studio in either China, or Japan, to further its global positioning.

In addition to Scanline, Seoul and KOTRA succeeded in attracting four North American innovative companies to Seoul, including the bio-technology enterprise, Platinum 21, the blockchain technology-based, fintech platform, Finhaven, and the promising startup of Silicon Valley’s Stanford University, BuildBlock.

The four companies will establish local headquarters and R&D centers in Seoul, invest a total of USD 110 million in the city over the next five years, and create 550 new jobs.

1. Scanline invested USD 50 million in Seoul to open its first Asia studio at the Sangam DMC R&D Center, and it plans to employ over 310 talented individuals over five years from 2019 to 2023. Scanline is in the process of working with the films, including X-Men: Dark Phoenix, Spiderman: Farm From Home, and Joker, while working on plans to officially operate domestic production of such Hollywood films in the Asia studio to open in Seoul. Techniques, such as virtual reality or computer graphics, will be used for visual effects (VFX) and scenes difficult to film, in addition to images, to maximize film visual.
2. Seoul and KOTRA were successful in attracting the local headquarters of Platinum 21, a medical, bio-technology-based company from Vancouver. Platinum 21 is a brand dedicated to the development of the BioIQ Test Kit that quickly diagnoses AIDS, the syphilis, hepatitis, cancer, and other diseases. In order to more effectively push forward with research and development that is inclusive of preventive healthcare and clinical testing, Platinum 21 plans to invest approximately USD 53 million in intellectual property and cash in Seoul over the next five years and create high-quality jobs for 200 people.
3. The city of Seoul also concluded an investment agreement for a R&D Center with Vancouver’s blockchain technology-based, fintech platform, Finhaven. Finhaven is a financial service-providing platform that mediates security transactions based on blockchain technology. It revealed its plans to invest USD 1 million in Seoul over the next five years, as well as hire 30 new staff members. If Finhaven’s launch in Seoul proves successful, it is anticipated that the Finhaven platform will play the role as bridgehead between Korea and the global financial market.
4. Seoul also attracted an establishment of a Korean corporation of the promising startup, BuildBlock of Silicon Valley’s Stanford University. BuildBlock is an innovative company that plans to construct a real estate transaction platform based on blockchain technology, and it made its debut into Korea’s financial service platform market through a USD 1 million investment while hiring ten new staff members to boost the growth of the domestic blockchain industry.