GS, LS to go for higher growth

By Yoon Ja-young

GS Group and LS Group, which successfully split off from LG to become leading conglomerates, are accelerating their moves for growth this year.

GS Group announced Monday that it would invest 2.2 trillion won this year, up 10 percent from the previous year and hire 2,800 people, 17 percent more than in 2010.

According to the group’s business plan for 2011, it aims to mark 55 trillion won in sales this year, a 3 trillion won higher target.

It will invest 1.4 trillion won in the energy sector, including GS Caltex’s heavy oil upgrading facility. The oil company plans to speed up R&D efforts in new energy and new material businesses, which it selected as major future growth engines.

Investment in retail will amount to 400 billion won. The group plans to open 1,000 more GS25 convenient stores, to become the top in the industry. GS Retail, the group’s retail arm, plans to mark over 20 percent growth through aggressive merger and acquisition efforts on new cash-cow businesses.

GS Construction is to see a 400 billion won investment, with efforts focused on diversifying markets and strengthening overseas businesses.

The aggressive business plan follows GS Group Chairman Huh Chang-soo’s announcement at a New Year meeting with executives last week. Huh stressed that the group should make more efforts to improve core competitiveness and find new growth engines through innovation.

LS Group Chairman Koo Ja-hong, meanwhile, is receiving media attention for making continuous visits to potential business sites in 2011.

Last Tuesday Koo visited an environmentally friendly recycling facility being constructed in Danyang, North Chungcheong Province. GRM, a subsidiary of LS-Nikko Copper, has invested 21 billion won in the facility. This was followed by a visit to the copper company’s refinery in Ulsan last Friday. He is leaving for India Tuesday to attend a workshop to try and take the lead in the market there.