AmorePacific Corp., South Korea's top cosmetics maker, unveiled a plan Tuesday to spend more than 160 billion won ($139.6 million) on expanding its research and development and production complex, as part of its efforts to bolster competitiveness through more investment.

The company signed a memorandum of understanding with the Gyeonggi provincial government earlier in the day for a project to expand its R&D and production facilities in Yongin, 49 kilometers south of Seoul, it said in a statement. AmorePacific will be investing a total of 163 billion won. 

The construction will start in 2018 on a plot of land covering some 542,000 square meters, with the facility to be completed by 2020, the company said. "We will spare no efforts, not only to boost our competitiveness through continuous investment in research and production but also to contribute to the regional economy," said Suh Kyung-bae, the president of AmorePacific. The top cosmetics firm currently has two research facilities in Yongin, built in 1992 and 2010, respectively.

Featuring over 30 in-house beauty brands and fragrance lines, AmorePacific has set foot in many Asian countries, including China and the ASEAN, whose combined sales account for about 25 percent of its annual revenue. (Yonhap)