LG Chem to increase investment 53% to W3.8 trillion in 2018

LG Chem researchers test RO filters at the chemical firm's factory in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, in this file photo. / Courtesy of LG Chem

LG Chem plans to invest 3.8 trillion won ($3.5 billion) for capital expenditures this year, a 52 percent increase year-on-year, to strengthen the competitive power of its existing businesses and nurture new business models.

The nation's leading chemical firm spent a record-high 900 billion won on R&D last year, saying it will raise its investment in this area by more than 10 percent every year.

This year, the company has come up with the new goal of jumping into the global top five chemical companies by 2025 by expanding its investments in its units of basic materials, batteries, electronic information materials and life science.

In the area of basic materials, the firm will advance its higher value-added business and concentrate on promising materials to reinforce its competitive power globally.

It will increase its production capacity of elastomers, a high-value-added synthetic resin that bears characteristics of both rubber and plastic, to 290,000 tons this year, aiming to become the top 3 global producer.

LG Chem said it has secured metallocene catalysts and process technologies, the key technologies involving elastomers.

The chemical company also invested 25 billion won in its factory in Yeosu, South Jeolla Province, and set up a plant dedicated to producing 400 tons of carbon nanotubes a year. The plant, which has been in operation since January last year, will be working at full capacity by the end of this year, after gradually increasing its capacity. LG Chem is considering expanding the plant next year.

As for its battery unit, LG Chem, which is also known as the nation's No. 2 battery maker, aims to take the top position by winning large-scale contracts involving third-generation electronic vehicles that can travel for more than 500 kilometers on a single charge.

The company will also target the market for energy storage system battery cells with distinguished performance and cost competitiveness. It will also keep focusing on smaller batteries optimized for smart devices.

In the area of electronic information materials, the company has been consistently expanding Polaroid production in China to solidify its position as the world's No. 1 Polaroid manufacturer.

LG Chem will also look to projects involving water treatment and functional films. In June last year, the firm signed a deal to supply exclusively RO water filters for a 300,000-ton seawater desalination facility in Egypt. The company said it will produce the world-level RO filters for home use and will pioneer new markets in China and India

The company also signed a deal with Japanese material company Idemitsu Kosan last July enabling the two groups to use each other's patents of OLED-related materials.

In addition, its life science unit is focusing its research on diabetes-related diseases and immunity and treatments for cancer. The company will accelerate development based on its experience in developing the anti-diabetic drug Zemiglo.

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