July 8, 2002 — The South Korean government said it plans to offer tax incentives to foreign companies, and put nanotechnology on a short list of industries to be excluded from the minimum investment levels necessary to receive the benefits, according to Asia Pulse.

The draft bill, designed to lure foreign investment, says that companies investing in South Korea’s nanotech industry would not pay corporate and income taxes for the first seven years and would receive a 50 percent reduction for an additional three years.

The information technology, bioengineering, film, computer games and media industries would also receive the no-minimum benefits. Firms in other industries must meet investment levels ranging from $10 to $50 million based on the firm’s size. Currently, Korea’s corporate tax rate averages 27 percent, according to the report.