One of the largest Chinese computer producers Haier, together with a South Korean computer monitor manufacturing company Triview, announced in March 2009 a nine million euros investment for the construction of an LCD monitor factory in the zone Bunardzik.
In September of that year a “small event was held” in exchange for laying down the cornerstones of the factory, because not all documents were signed. The event was attended by the then Primer Minister and Minister of Information Society and Administration, Nikola Gruevski and Ivo Ivanovski respectively, whence they announced that initially 100 persons would be employed in the new factory, and that the number would go up to 300 later on.
In addition to monitors, the facilities should have produced television sets, and later computers as well.
“This investment is an excellent recommendation for every other company in China and South Korea, which are some of the biggest economic giants in the world”, said Gruevski and added that it is even more satisfactory that the investment comes at a time of global financial and economic crisis.
This factory should have been the third investment in Bunardzik after Johnson Control and Johnson Matthey.
In 2010 it was announced that the investment was late because Triview is changing the production from LCD to LED television sets. Next year, the South Korean company withdrew from the joint project, but Haier stated that they would independently implement the project, although the government terminated the initial contract.
Five years later there are no announcements regarding the investment, and it has not been mentioned in the ruling party’s VMRO-DPMNE accountability reports both in 2014 and 2016.
BIRN addressed the government to receive final confirmation that this investment went down and that it was not postponed, but our questions went unanswered by them.