Second thoughts about Slovakia

South Korean tire producer Hankook is selecting a location for its new European production and distribution center, in which it plans to invest EUR 500 million.

"Slovakia is unlikely to be the location," a source familiar with the deal told Reuters. The source also added that the investment is likely to go to one of the three countries of the region - Hungary, the Czech Republic or Poland. The Hankook deal, which would create an estimated 1,600 jobs, would be Slovakia's third-largest greenfield foreign investment project.

Hankook had picked Slovakia as the preferred location for the new factory in May, but reopened negotiations with other contenders after the Slovak government turned down a proposed incentive package for the deal. The government has offered state aid totaling around 1 million Slovak crowns (zł.100,300) per new job, significantly less than the original package.

Slovak Economy Minister Jirko Malcharek said he had no official information that the company wanted to drop Slovakia from the list of potential sites and that he was scheduled to meet Hankook officials for talks. (Reuters)