1. Subject: Lotte Mart Opens 100th Overseas Store
Date: August 6 , 2010
Source: JoongAng Daily
Lotte Mart, Korea's third largest discount store chain, has opened its 100th overseas outlet in Indonesia. The milestone comes four years after the company opened its first overseas store in Vietnam in 2006.
In 2008, Lotte Mart acquired a 75-percent stake in discount retailer PT Makro Indonesia, which operates 19 stores in the Southeast Asian country. But Lotte Mart made a direct investment to open the 100th store, which is located in the Gandaria City shopping mall in Jakarta.
The new store sells products piece by piece rather than in bulk. It also features a "global zone" offering some 2,000 products from 20 countries such as Korea, Italy and the U.S., targeting high-income earners.
Lotte Mart, which runs 85 stores in Korea, plans to increase its discount outlets to a total of 200 at home and abroad, and is targeting combined sales of W9 trillion (US$1=W1,168) this year.
2. Subject: POSCO to Build 1st Overseas Steel Plant
Date: August 5, 2010
Source: Chosun Ilbo
The world's No. 3 steelmaker POSCO will build its first overseas steel mill in Indonesia in a joint venture with the country's top producer PT Krakatau Steel, it said Wednesday. The plant, in which POSCO is to hold a 70 percent stake, will be able to produce 600 tons of steel a year.
The plant will be built in Cilegon, a port city in Java. It will initially produce 300 tons of steel a year once construction is complete by the end of 2013. Ground will be broken later this year.
The plant will use existing port, land, water and power resources owned by Krakatau, minimizing expenses for the Korean steelmaker. Krakatau is capable of producing 2.4 million tons of steel annually and controls 60 percent of Indonesia's market for flat steel products.
3. Subject: Korea's Food Prices Rise at 3rd Fastest Rate in OECD
Date: August 5, 2010
Source: Arirang News
Food prices in Korea rose at the third quickest pace among member countries of the OECD in June.
Food prices in Korea rose at the third quickest pace among member countries of the OECD in June. According to figures released by the OECD on Wednesday, the nation's food prices increased 4.1 percent on-year in June, following Turkey at first with a 5.6-percent surge and Iceland with 4.3 percent.
The Ministry of Strategy and Finance explained that the fast growth rate is most likely due to abnormal changes in the weather, adding that it plans to come up with several measures to help stabilize the rising prices.
Meanwhile, the nation's consumer price index rose 2.6 percent in June compared to a year ago, ranking seventh among the OECD nations.
4. Subject: Hyundai Tops 3 Million Sales Mark in India
Date: August 6, 2010
Source: DongA Ilbo
Hyundai Motor has topped the 3 million mark in cumulative production and sales in India just 12 years after entering the market. In order to meet growing demand there, the company plans to beef up its annual production capacity at its two Chennai plants.
Hyundai Motor India on Thursday held a ceremony in Chennai to celebrate the shipment of an i10 compact, a strategic model for the Indian market, as the 3 millionth car produced in India. It is only the second automaker there after Maruti Suzuki, the Indian unit of Suzuki Motor, to reach the milestone.
HMI sold a record 559,853 vehicles last year, with 289,846 sold in the Indian market and 270,007 overseas. Sales in the first half of this year climbed 19.7 percent from a year ago to 307,350 units.
HMI managing director Park Han-woo said the company will boost its annual production capacity from the current 600,000 units to 670,000 by investing in facilities at the Chennai plants.
HMI is at the forefront of Hyundai Motor's exports, with 40 percent of its yearly output shipped to other markets. The automaker's share of the Indian market is around 20 percent, second to Maruti Suzuki.
5. Subject: Korea to Welcome Top CEOs for G20 Business Summit
Date: August 6, 2010
Source: Chosun Ilbo
Korea will host the G20 Business Summit alongside the meeting of top political leaders from 20 developed and developing nations in November. The Business Summit brings together 100 CEOs from the world's leading businesses in 12 different fields for a series of roundtable discussions.
The summit starts on Nov. 10 and ends with a banquet with global heads of state on Nov. 12. Around a dozen Korean CEOs are set to take part in three days of roundtable discussions and other meetings focusing on the role of private businesses in maintaining economic growth as major governments withdraw stimulus measures implemented during the global economic crisis.
The theme of the upcoming business leaders' summit is the role of private companies in maintaining sustainable and balanced growth. The aim is to get them to play a proactive role in sustaining growth as governments implement exit strategies from their pump-priming measures. Oh Young-ho, director of the G20 Business Summit organizing committee, said at present around 80 people are slated to attend, but it will be easy to achieve its target of getting 100 to come.
From left, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, ArcelorMittal chairman Lakshmi Mittal, HSBC chairman Stephen Green, SK Group chairman Chey Tae-won, and SEB chairman Marcus Wallenberg
The organizing committee was launched early this year by the Federation of Korean Industries, the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Korea International Trade Association and the Ministry of Knowledge Economy.
The G20 Business Summit will be held at the Sheraton Walker Hill in Gwangjang-dong in eastern Seoul. Starting with a welcome banquet on Nov. 10, it will feature roundtable discussions with 12 working groups on trade, finance, green growth, and social responsibility. G20 leaders will also be invited to the discussions.
"The discussions will take place only for one day, but related reports are already being prepared," Sohn Kyung-shik of the organizing committee told reporters. "The meeting is unprecedented in that the roundtable discussions based on those reports and agreements reached will be directly associated with the G20 Summit."
It is not easy to bring many prominent CEOs together in one place for three days due to their busy schedules. "We've already invited Samsung Electronic chairman Lee Kun-hee and Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group chairman Chung Mong-koo, and will cooperate with the World Economic Forum to learn from its experience," Oh said. "If it's successful, the G20 Business Summit will become a permanent fixture at every G20 Summit."
Office of Commercial Affairs, Royal Thai Embassy in Korea
Source : http://www.depthai.go.th