Lotte Group chairman to lead Korean business delegation to Indonesia

Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin / Courtesy of Federation of Korean Industries

Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin will lead a delegation of Korean businesses to Indonesia next week, the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) said Sunday.

FKI said the two-day trip on April 28-29 will be joined by representatives of Korean business groups and companies, including Samsung Electronics, SK, Hyundai Motor Company, LG, Lotte, POSCO, Hanwha, HD Hyundai and KB Financial Group.

The FKI plans to use the trip as an opportunity to establish a network with Indonesia’s new administration under President Prabowo Subianto, who was inaugurated in October last year. The delegation will discuss ways to strengthen economic cooperation and expand mutual investment between the two countries, the lobby group said.

On the first day of the trip to Jakarta, the Korean delegation will meet the Indonesian Employers Association in a bilateral business roundtable. With business representatives and government officials from both countries, the roundtable will discuss a comprehensive framework for bilateral cooperation and measures from both governments to support it.

Indonesian ministers and officials from the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs, the Ministry of Investment and the Ministry of Industry will also meet the Korean delegation during the trip.

Shin leads the group as Lotte is set to begin the operation of a large-scale chemical complex in Indonesia within the first half of this year. Lotte Chemical has invested $3.9 billion to build a petrochemical plant in Cilegon, in Banten Province.

The facility, currently 99 percent complete, is capable of manufacturing 1 million tons of ethylene, 520,000 tons of propylene and 250,000 tons of polypropylene per year. The company believes the new facility will be its frontline hub for its global petrochemical market across Indonesia, India and other Asian countries. Lotte Chemical CEO Lee Young-jun visited the construction site on April 4 for a pep talk with employees of the new plant.

"The Korea-Indonesia bilateral tie has not taken an official step forward under the new Indonesian administration, and the delegation's goal is paving the way for expanding private-sector cooperation through joint efforts by business groups and companies," FKI’s International Affairs Division Head Kim Bong-man said.

Indonesia, with the world’s fourth-largest population of 282 million and largest nickel reserve, is Korea’s key trade partner in Southeast Asia, according to FKI.

Bilateral trade reached $20.5 billion last year, making Indonesia Korea’s 13th largest trade partner. The lobby group said Indonesia posted economic growth of 5.03 percent last year, the third consecutive year of growth over 5 percent.