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| Suh Kyung-suk, second from left, GS Group vice chairman, checks plastic kitchenware at a studio of MNC GS Home Shopping in Jakarta, Indonesia, Wednesday. Huh Jin-soo, third from right, GS Caltex vice chairman, and Rha Wan-bae, second from right, GS Energy vice chairman, also visited GS Home Shopping's joint venture. The CEOs of GS Group affiliates held a strategy meeting in Jakarta to show the group's new focus in the rapidly growing Southeast Asian economy. / Courtesy of GS Group |
By Lee Hyo-sik
GS Group, Korea's seventh-largest conglomerate by assets, is aiming to expand its energy, construction and retail businesses in Indonesia as part of a globalization strategy to find new growth engines outside Korea.
The group has already established a significant presence in one of the most vibrant economies in Southeast Asia, but wants to expand its operations to capitalize on the nation's abundant natural resources and rapidly growing consumer market.
GS held a meeting of the heads of its major affiliates in Jakarta from Wednesday to Thursday, discussing how to expand its presence in Indonesia and other parts of Southeast Asia.
The CEOs, including GS Group Vice Chairman, Suh-kyung-suk, and GS Engineering & Construction (E&C) Vice Chairman, Huh Myung-soo, reviewed the group's current businesses in Indonesia and examined ways of expanding operations there.
They also shared ideas on how to establish a strong presence in the region to achieve its goal of becoming a global enterprise.
The meeting was the fourth of its kind held abroad after the first one in China's Qingdao in 2011, the second in Singapore in 2012 and the third in Beijing in 2013.
Group Chairman Huh Chang-soo sent a message to meeting participants, calling on them to come up with effective strategies to establish a foothold in Indonesia and other parts of the region. The chairman had initially planned to preside over the gathering, but he had to go to Italy to attend various business meetings on the sideline of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM).
In a message, Huh said that "Southeast Asia is abundant with natural resources, and has a rapidly growing consumer market. The region is not geographically far from Korea. So, our energy, retail and construction units should actively seek new growth opportunities in Indonesia and other Southeast Asian nations.''
The chairman also urged the CEOs to extend support to local small-and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) looking to make inroads into foreign markets. "We must help our small business partners grow together with us. GS has to establish an exemplary shared-growth model with business partners, customers and local communities.''
Following the meeting, the CEOs visited regional offices of GS Retail, GS Home Shopping, GS Global and GS E&C.
GS Home Shopping runs a joint venture with an Indonesian retailer called MNC GS Home Shopping, which markets a wide range of products manufactured by Korean small companies 24 hours a day. GS E&C is currently constructing Aeon Mall, a large-scale shopping center south of Jakarta, while GS Retail has set up an Indonesian subsidiary to open convenience stores in the Southeast Asian nation.
The group's trading arm GS Global has also acquired a stake in coal and iron mines and is actively involved in natural resource trading.
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