LS Cable & System and subsidiary LS Eco Energy will invest a combined 161.6 billion won ($116 million) to build a rare-earth permanent-magnet supply chain spanning Vietnam and South Korea. LS Cable & System will invest 150 billion won in wholly owned Korea Motion Works, a newly established permanent-magnet manufacturer, while LS Eco Energy will invest 11.6 billion won for a 58% stake in Vietnam-based Global SHRE Metal, or GSHM, which will produce samarium metal. The planned chain will use feedstock from Australia's Lynas, process samarium at LS Eco Energy's Vietnamese subsidiary LSCV and manufacture permanent magnets at a planned factory in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province. LSCV is installing annual samarium capacity of 240 tons and plans trial production in December. The companies are pursuing a non-Chinese supply chain as U.S. requirements for samarium-cobalt permanent magnets purchased by the Defense Department are set to extend to raw materials next year, while China's export controls sustain supply concerns.