Chairman Shin Dong-bin and Vice Chairman Kim Ik-hwan Attend Korea-Uzbekistan Business Forum

Hansae Mobility to Invest Up to $25 Million in Local Plant

Exploring Fashion and Cultural Content Expansion Based on Automotive Parts Business

Shin Dong-bin, Chairman of Lotte Group, and key executives from Hansae YES24 Group met with Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, who visited Korea, to discuss ways to expand local investments.

According to business circles on September 17, Chairman Shin, Kim Seok-hwan, Vice Chairman of Hansae YES24 Holdings, and Kim Ik-hwan, Vice Chairman of Hansae Co., Ltd., attended the "Korea-Uzbekistan Business Forum" held at the Shilla Hotel State Guesthouse in Seoul on September 15.

Shin Dong-bin, Chairman of Lotte Group (4th from right), and Kim Ik-hwan, Vice Chairman of Hansae Co., Ltd. (5th from left in the last row), are posing for a commemorative photo at the "Korea-Uzbekistan Business Forum" held on the 14th at the Shilla Hotel State Guesthouse. Provided by The Korea Economic Association.

Chairman Shin used the forum as an opportunity to meet with President Mirziyoyev, where they discussed integrating Korean advanced technology into development projects in Uzbekistan and exploring cooperation in the production of copper foil, a key secondary battery material.

Lotte is already engaged in gas chemical and hotel businesses in Uzbekistan. Lotte Chemical holds a 24.5% stake in the joint venture operating the Ustyurt Gas Chemical Complex. This complex, which began operations in 2016, is Uzbekistan’s first large-scale foreign investment petrochemical project. The state-owned gas company of Uzbekistan and a Korean consortium each own a 50% stake. On the Korean side, Lotte Chemical, Korea Gas Corporation (22.5%), and GS Energy (3%) are participating. Lotte Hotel has also been commissioned to operate the "Lotte City Hotel Tashkent Palace" in the capital, Tashkent.

Hansae Group’s automotive parts affiliate, Hansae Mobility, has been preparing to produce core components locally in cooperation with Uzbekistan’s UzAuto Motors since the end of last year and began mass production this month. This year, the company intends to invest 13 million dollars in the Fergana region and is considering an additional 12 million dollars next year. The total investment could reach up to 25 million dollars. A completion ceremony for the local plant is scheduled to be held on October 13.

Hansae Group is also considering local expansion into the fashion and cultural content sectors, leveraging its automotive parts business as a bridgehead. This includes Hansae Co., Ltd.’s original design manufacturing (ODM) for apparel, the cultural content of YES24 and Donga Publishing, and Hansae MK’s fashion brands.

Vice Chairman Kim Ik-hwan said, “We will consider localizing cultural content and fashion sectors based on our investment in automotive parts,” adding, “We also plan to proactively recruit talented Uzbek students studying at Korean universities.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.