S.Korea's Kos Wire plans EUR 21.5 mln Czech plant

PRAGUE, Nov 22 (Reuters) - South Korea's KOS Wire Ltd. plans to invest up to 21.5 million euros ($27.55 million) over the next six years to produce stainless-steel wire in the Czech Republic, a Czech state-run investment agency said on Wednesday.

The CzechInvest agency, promoting foreign direct investment in the EU member country, said in a statement the plant would produce up to 1,000 tonnes of wire per month, targeted mainly at the automobile industry. It hopes to employ 90 workers by 2013.

KOS Wire, a member of the KOS Group, follows another South Korean investor, Hyundai Motor Co. <005380.KS>, in setting up a production base closer to customers in west European markets, expanding the booming automotive industry in the Czech Republic.

Hyundai, South Korea's top auto maker, is planning to spend 800 million to 1 billion euros on a Czech factory, which will make 300,000 cars and 600,000 transmission systems annually at full capacity in about 2010. ((Reporting by Marek Petrus; Editing by Quentin Bryar; Reuters Messaging: rm://marek.petrus.reuters.com@reuters.net; e-mail: prague.newsroom@reuters.com or marek.petrus@reuters.com; Tel: +420 224 190 477)) ($1=.7804 Euro)

Keywords: AUTOS CZECH KOSWIRE