Semikron, a German electronics maker, plans to set up a factory and research laboratory in Incheon to produce industrial inverters as part of its drive to expand into East Asia, officials here said Tuesday.

The Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority said it struck a deal with the German company on Dec. 23 for the $10 million project. But it did not provide details on the plant’s production capacity or time frame.

The facilities in Songdo, the port city’s international business district, were envisaged as Semikron aims to decuple its inverter output to 14,000 units by 2017, the agency said.

The leading power component maker also set a goal of seizing the top spot in the East Asian market by boosting inverter exports to 140 billion won ($121 million) between 2013 and 2018.

“The deal reflects Semikron’s plan to promptly cater to growing demand in East Asia for renewable energy equipment at competitive prices,” the IFEZ Authority said in a statement.

Incheon officials have been striving to court companies and universities at home and from around the world with the ambition to transform the city into a new hub of business, logistics, education and tourism.

The campaign comes after the government designated the region as one of Korea’s six tariff-free industrial areas in 2003, which offer a variety of tax, administrative and regulatory incentives for foreign investors.

By Shin Hyon-hee (heeshin@heraldcorp.com)