In his New Year’s message, LS Group Chairman Christopher Koo said, “We’ve set 2016 as a year to achieve goals with a strong will, and we’ll devote ourselves to enforcing merit-based management.”
Chairman Koo named three management policies to cope with a prolonged crisis. First, he called for the implementation of top-priority tasks on cash management. “In an age of uncertainty, we have to focus on solidifying fundamentals of the financial structure and securing cash,” said Chairman Koo, adding that investments that are not time-pressed will be readjusted, and activities not contributing to creating cash need to be minimized. This step is designed so the company has cash on hand to invest in opportune projects, the group said.
Chairman Koo pledged to advance business portfolios.
“We’ll focus on turning around marginalized and sagging businesses this year, like we did last year, and we’ll continue to self-reform by disposing of non-core and duplicating businesses.”
He stressed the need to secure global technology competitiveness by speeding up R&D activities nurturing core businesses. He urged his executives and staff members to strengthen the management of LS Group’s investment companies, including overseas corporations, and foreign currency risk management to prevent losses.
Finally, Chairman Koo called for the execution of a merit-based management system.
LS Group Chairman Koo tours LSIS’s HVDC Smart Center to look at the process of new technology development on Jeju Island last May. (Photos:LS Group)
LS Focuses on Six Future Businesses
LS Group plans to attach top priority in nurturing six core businesses this year, like last year, in consideration of the uncertainties of the business environment. The group named six future businesses, including super voltage underwater cables; electric devices; and power systems last year. The group aims at exploring new technologies and new businesses by combining such mainstay businesses as electronics and materials with energy efficiency technologies.
LSIS has set goal this year of expanding its presence in the Iraqi electricity infrastructure market. Last May, LSIS was awarded a $147 million (some 160.4 billion won) power infrastructure project related the development of an Iraqi city.
LSIS plans to focus on entering the European market, a major center of electric products. The company wants to land more projects there as it did in the underground cable market last year. LSIS won a $23 million project from Danish electricity authorities last February, and the company was awarded a $45 million underground cable project by Singapore power authorities last June. The company recently won a deal with Deungfen Motor, China’s second largest carmaker.
_구자열 신년사.jpg)
