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Hyundai Motor, POSCO strengthen ties with Indonesia
Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Chung Euisun, second from right, greets Indonesian President Joko Widodo, third from left, at Lotte Hotel in Seoul, Thursday. Courtesy of Hyundai Motor Group
By Park Jae-hyuk
Widodo meets Korean business leaders to encourage investments
By Park Jae-hyuk
Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Chung Euisun had a meeting with Indonesian President Joko Widodo, who arrived in Korea for his summit with President Yoon Suk-yeol, the company said Thursday.
During the meeting, held four months after they met previously at the opening ceremony of Hyundai Motor Group's new Indonesian factory in March, they reportedly talked about the automotive group's visions for smart city technology and future mobility, given that the Southeast Asian country has been seeking to build a new capital city.
Widodo is said to have asked the Korean company to play a major role in the new capital city project by offering its eco-friendly vehicles.
According to Hyundai Motor Group, Chung expressed his gratitude to Widodo for selecting G80 and IONIQ 5 electric vehicles as the official cars for the G20 summit to be held in Bali in November. Indonesia assumes the G20 presidency this year.
Chung also asked the Indonesian president to support Busan's bid to host the World Expo 2030, although the Southeast Asian country officially decided last month to back Saudi Arabia's Riyadh.
On the same day, the Indonesian delegation, including Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Panjaitan, visited Hyundai Motor Group's R&D center in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, for a close look at its future mobility technologies, such as self-driving cars.
Widodo was initially supposed to visit the facility along with Chung and Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Lee Chang-yang, but he ended up deciding to meet with the Hyundai Motor Group chief and other Korean business leaders at Lotte Hotel in Seoul on Thursday morning.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo, left, applauds as POSCO CEO Kim Hag-dong, second from right, signed a memorandum of understanding with the Indonesian government and PT Krakatau Steel officials at Lotte Hotel in Seoul, Thursday. From left are Widodo, PT Krakatau Steel President Director Silmy Karim, Indonesia's Minister of Investment Bahlil Lahadalia, Kim and Indonesia's Minister of State Owned Enterprises Erick Thohir. Courtesy of POSCO
At the hotel, the Indonesian president also attended an agreement-signing ceremony for POSCO's participation in the country's new capital city project.
POSCO signed a memorandum of understanding with the Indonesian government and PT Krakatau Steel to join the project and increase the Indonesian state-run steelmaker's production capacity.
Under their agreement, both countries' steelmakers will collectively invest $3.5 billion over the next five years for their joint venture, named PT Krakatau-POSCO, to have a second furnace and a new cold-rolled steel plant. Regarding the new capital city construction, POSCO E&C and POSCO Group's other affiliates are considering joining the project, on the basis of their work on the development and construction of Songdo International City in Incheon.
The signing ceremony took place at the venue where Widodo met with other Korean business leaders, including CJ Group Chairman Sohn Kyung-shik, LS Group Chairman Koo Ja-eun, Samsung Electronics President Roh Tae-moon, LG Vice Chairman Kwon Bong-seok, LX Holdings CEO Roh Jin-seo, Lotte Chemical CEO Kim Gyo-hyun and executives from TKG Taekwang, GS E&C and KCC Glass.
During the hour-long closed-door meeting, they reportedly discussed ways for Korean companies to increase their investments in Indonesia.
In addition, the B20 Business Dialogue event was held at the hotel for the government officials and company executives from both countries to discuss economic cooperation. The government explained that the event was intended to propose business policies to the G20 leaders before the Bali summit.
Minister for Trade Ahn Duk-geun said he expects Indonesia to play a key role for the global economy as the chair of the G20 for this year.
Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry Executive Vice Chairman Woo Tae-hee mentioned the importance of cooperation to cope with the supply chain crisis under the rapidly changing global trade environment. He also asked the Indonesian government officials and business leaders to support Busan's bid to host the World Expo 2030.