S.Korea's SK On to invest $2.5 bln to build new EV battery factory in China -govt media

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterThe logo of SK Innovation is seen in front of its headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, February 3, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Hong-JiSEOUL, Nov 4 (Reuters) - The battery unit of South Korea's SK Innovation Co Ltd (096770.KS) plans to invest $2.53 billion to build a new electric vehicle (EV) battery factory in China, China's local government backed Yancheng News reported on Thursday. SK Innovation's wholly-owned battery subsidiary SK On, which supplies electric car batteries to Ford Motor Co (F.N), Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) and Hyundai Motor Co (005380.KS) among others, has battery production sites in the United States, Hungary, China and South Korea. The company had said in September it planned to build a new battery factory in China with an initial investment of 1.2 trillion won ($1.01 billion). ($1 = 1,183.4000 won)Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Heekyong Yang and Brenda Goh; Editing by Kim CoghillOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.