LS Group Chairman Koo Ja-yeol signed a Strategic Alliance Agreement in major business areas 

with Uzbek Deputy Prime Minister Ulugbek Rozukulov in the capital Tashkent on June 18.(Photo: LS Group)

LS Group Chairman Koo Ja-yeol, who accompanied President Park Geun-hye on a state visit to Central Asia, signed a deal on business collaboration with the Uzbekistan government.

Chairman Koo met with Uzbek Deputy Prime Minister Ulugbek Rozukulov in the capital Tashkent on June 18 and signed a Strategic Alliance Agreement in major business areas, including the supply of tractors, power/telecommunications infrastructure, automotive parts, and industrial materials.

Under the deal, LS Mtron’s contract to supply $500 million worth of tractors, signed last December, has been upgraded to a Uzbekistan government-level agreement. LS Mtron, awarded the exclusive rights to supply tractors with less than 100 horsepower, has been given the additional right to supply injection molding machines and automotive parts. The Korean business group’s collaboration with Uzbekistan will expand to such businesses as electricity cables, smart grid, and copper refinery. 

LS Group said the value of the business collaboration between the business group and Uzbekistan will grow to some $1 billion over the next five years, including the existing $500 million.

Earlier, an Uzbek delegation, headed by Deputy Prime Minister Rozukulov, toured LS Mtron’s tractor production plant in Jeonju on June 9 to confirm the company’s production and technological power at first hand. On the same day, LS Group Chairman Koo agreed on the groundwork on cooperative collaboration during his meeting with Rozukulov. 

The agriculture industry, Uzbekistan’s major national industry, is expected to emerge as a future growth engine. 

LS Group said LS Mtron’s tractors and infrastructure technologies, to be supplied under the deal, will substitute for European and Russian-made products, contributing to the modernizing of Uzbekistan. LS Mtron’s small- and mid-size tractors have a competitive edge over major tractor makers from the United State and Europe.

Chairman Koo said, “I feel a sense of pride as well as a sense of responsibility over the fact that our technology has been recognized in Uzbekistan, located at the center of Central Asia, a country that serves as a technology and industry hub connecting the West and the Orient.” He went on to say that his group will further expand the scope of collaboration with Uzbekistan by offering highly trustworthy technology and integrated solutions. 

Chairman Koo was part of a Korean business delegation, which accompanied President Park. Koo and other delegates were present at a variety of events, including a state dinner in honor of the visiting Korean president and a business forum. President Park has traveled overseas on eight occasions since she took office. It was the sixth overseas trip in which Koo accompanied President Park.