South Korean Hyundai and LG Energy Solution (LGES) have formed a joint venture (JV) to build a gigafactory in the US state of Georgia, valued at over $4.3bn. Announcing the news on May 26, the automaker and battery manufacturer said the new facility will be located adjacent to Hyundai’s electric vehicle (EV) metaplant which is under construction near the city of Savannah.

Production is slated to begin at the end of 2025. Its annual production capacity of 30 gigawatt hours can support the production of 300,000 EVs.

This is the companies’ second EV battery JV, after the $1.1bn facility they are building in Karawang, Indonesia, which is set to come online next year. The Savannah facility is LGES’s seventh US battery plant operating or being constructed.

Firms pull $36bn from Russia post-war

Foreign companies withdrew $36bn from Russia in the year to March 2023 as part of selling assets in the country in response to its war of aggression in Ukraine. The figure was calculated by local lender BKF and reported by Russia’s state news agency, RIA, on May 29. 

The figure is based on BKFs analysis of central bank data which shows that foreign firms made 200 asset sales over the 12-month period. Among international media, the story was first reported by Reuters.

Following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, more than 1000 foreign firms have committed to withdraw or suspend operations in the country, according to data compiled by Yale School of Management.  

China commits $707m to Suez Canal Economic Zone 

Chinese investors have pledged to invest $707m in new projects in Egypt’s Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZONE). The announcements were made following a visit by SCZONE executives in China in late May. 

In a statement on May 28, SCZONE said industrial conglomerate Hidier will build a $265m power station and a $100m carburetor manufacturing facility, while Golden Spring Group has pledged $12m to a new textile project. Chemicals group Shandong Tianyi Company will establish a $110m bromine facility and a $200m caustic soda plant.

The following day, SCZONE said it had received a letter of interest from fashion supplier Shanghai Shengda regarding a $20m investment to produce ready-made garments and accessories in the economic zone. 

And Finally: Beverly Hills residents voted against LVMH’s proposed luxury hotel on Rodeo Drive, which looks set to halt the group’s first US hotel, the Financial Times reported on May 27.