S.Korea's Lotte Group to invest $44 bln over five years (updated)

Lotte

23/10/2018 04:43

* To spend on chemical, online retail expansion
    * Investment, hiring plan comes after chairman released from
jail

 (Adds company comment, investment details, context)
    SEOUL, Oct 23 (Reuters) - South Korean chemicals-to-retail
conglomerate Lotte Group will invest a total of 50 trillion won
($44.05 billion) over the next five years, its holding firm said
on Tuesday.
    The group plans to invest about 12 trillion won in 2019,
partly to expand facilities at chemical plants in South Korea,
Indonesia and the United States, Lotte Corp  004990.KS  said in
a statement.
    It said the 2019 amount represents one of the group's
largest investment plans for a single year, exceeding the 11.2
trillion won spent in 2016 on the purchase of a petrochemical
firm.
    The investment plan comes after group chairman Shin Dong-bin
was released from jail this month on a suspended sentence in a
bribery case.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N1WL1TL
    "The plan reflects our will to quickly normalise management
activities that recently slowed, secure competitiveness for
future growth and to contribute to revitalising the national
economy," Lotte said.
    In its retail business, which includes shopping malls and
supermarket chains, Lotte said it would focus on improving its
online service using big data and artificial intelligence
technology. It also said it would continue to build shopping
malls.
    Lotte's push into China's retail sector has been bumpy in
recent years due to a lingering row between the Seoul and
Beijing governments over a U.S. missile defence system deployed
in South Korea on land provided by Lotte.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N1MR6B7
    Along with the investment plan, Lotte said it would hire
about 70,000 people over the next five years.
($1 = 1,134.9600 won)

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S.Korea's appeals court suspends Lotte Group chief's jail
sentence     urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N1WL1TL
ANALYSIS-With China dream shattered over missile land deal,
Lotte faces costly overhaul     urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N1MR6B7
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 (Reporting by Ju-min Park; Editing by Christopher Cushing)
 ((ju-min.park@thomsonreuters.com; +82 2 3704 5650; Reuters
Messaging: ju-min.park.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))