By Kim Yoo-chul
The country's leading conglomerates are ready to shell out big bucks on investments despite economic uncertainties lingering both at home and abroad.
LG Group, the country's fourth-largest chaebol, set the tone last week, announcing it will spend a record-high 21 trillion won in building new manufacturing and research facilities.
Samsung Group and Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group followed suit this week with unprecedentedly aggressive schemes _ the former plans to spend 43.1 trillion won and the latter, 12 trillion won.
Samsung’s 43.1 trillion won marks a historic high in terms of yearly investments by a single group.
That of Hyundai Automotive, one of the world’s top five automakers, also represents an increase of 14.2 percent from 10.5 trillion won a year ago, which is necessary for further growth according to its owner.
``In order to proactively meet the rising demand from emerging markets such as China, Hyundai Automotive will expand overseas outputs based on brisk investments,’’ Chairman Chung Mong-koo said Wednesday.
The 72-year-old added that the Seoul-based group is poised to hire more, although he did not elaborate on the details.
SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won said that the energy- and telecom-oriented group will also chalk up a sizable increase in investments this year compared to 8 trillion won in 2010.
SK Group is the nation’s No. 3 player after Samsung and Hyundai Automotive with such flagships under its wings as top mobile operator SK Telecom and oil refiner SK Energy.
``We will inject more cash into projects aimed at boosting our profile in the Middle East and South America on top of China,’’ Chey said while elaborating on the focus of SK’s plant, construction and energy businesses.
A group spokesman said: ``We need to remain bullish on investment this year to better prepare for our future. Although we have yet to come up with details, we will invest more in 2011.’’
Doosan Chairman Park Yong-maan said one of Korea’s oldest chaebol will find new business opportunities in BRIC countries as this is a crucial time in securing more solid ground internationally.
The only exception to the upbeat atmosphere is steelmaker POSCO, which expects some hitches due to rising raw material prices.
POSCO Chairman Chung Joon-yang projected that the firm will experience some difficulty throughout the first half of 2011 because of these and market uncertainties.
Market observers expect the steel behemoth will slightly lower its investments this year from 2010’s 10.4 trillion won because it sees an anemic recovery in the global steel industry.
When contacted, spokesman Kim Dong-wan said that details will be announced on Jan. 13 at an in-house conference.