Bando E&C buys part of symbolic NY Times Square building

South Korea's Bando Engineering and Construction (E and C) Co. said Thursday it has purchased part of a building in the commercial district of New York that is widely considered a landmark of the major U.S. city. Bando E and C said it has purchased the section from the basement level to the second floor of the 2 Times Square building on Broadway in Manhattan, New York, for about US$100 million. The approximately 2,380 square meters of real estate Bando E and C has purchased serves as a retail mall complex of the 25-floor building. Located at the intersection of Broadway and 7th Avenue, the building is widely known for its flashy electronic billboard advertisements. Samsung Electronics Co. and The Coca-Cola Co. have been advertising on the electronic billboards on the exterior walls of this building for decades, and it is considered a key tourist destination in New York, having appeared in various Hollywood movies. Bando E and C said it plans to introduce K-content, K-food and other Korean cultural elem ents at the retail mall, targeting over some 130 million annual visitors to the mall. Source: Yonhap News Agency