By Kim Hyun-cheol
Staff Reporter
Top conglomerates plan to increase capital investment by 23 percent year-on-year to 92.8 trillion won ($95 billion) in 2008, a business lobby said Wednesday.
The figure represents a 3.9 percent increase from the prediction made in December, the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) said in a survey of 30 top conglomerates.
LG Group and Hyundai Kia Automotive Group are expected to raise capital spending most actively. LG plans to invest 2.12 trillion won in building a new display production line this year, while Hyundai Kia will spend 1.7 trillion won establishing an integrated steel mill.
SK Group is supposed to invest 465 billion won into new oil refining facilities and POSCO will spend 280 billion creating a new R&D center.
The investment plans reflect growing expectations for domestic entrepreneurs toward the ``business-friendly'' Lee Myung-bak government, which advocates deregulation, the FKI said.
President Lee, who has consistently emphasized economic growth since taking office in February, set this year's economic growth projection at 6 percent despite murky economic conditions.
The CEO-turned-politician pledged that his government would achieve 7 percent economic growth annually during his five-year term.