LG Electronics is planning to invest in new business ventures in West Virginia. The company plans to invest $700 million in projects over the next five years and will bring 275 skilled jobs to the state.
The money is part of the LG NOVA West Virginia Investment Fund. LG NOVA collaborates with startups and partners as a venture fund that focuses on business that will have a positive impact on people and the planet.
Sokwoo Rhee, the head of LG NOVA, said this investment is an opportunity to build and partner with hospitals, energy companies, local government and universities in the Mountain State.
“We know LG is a big company. But there are a lot of things that LG cannot do by ourselves,” Rhee said. “West Virginia is a great state but obviously there are a lot of things that LG can make a difference in. So that’s why we started discussing it.”
Sens. Joe Manchin and Shelley Moore Capito and Gov. Jim Justice attended the event. All commented on the growing trend of multinational companies coming to West Virginia to do business.
Justice said he is grateful for the investment in West Virginia, but that the state will in return have a lot to offer the tech company with its natural resources and proximity to large cities.
“We had been shoved to the side. We had a lot of tough jokes told about us. They aren’t telling them anymore. Absolutely. We’re rising like you can’t imagine,” Justice said.
West Virginia House of Delegates Speaker Roger Hanshaw said the investment will help diversify West Virginia’s economy.
“We are proud today to say that energy is not just our past, it’s also our future,” Hanshaw said. “But it’s a 21st Century future. Now, we’re proud to say that we have become a 21st Century economy, that we are no longer bound to any particular segment of industry as our economic future.”
This investment extends beyond West Virginia through collaboration to promote economic investments in communities across the Appalachian region with business leaders and public-sector innovators.