Chairman Kim Seung-youn of Hanwha Group.

Hanwha Business Group unveiled its 2016 business plan, which calls for 3.4 trillion won in investments and 65.7 trillion won in sales this year, up 9.1 percent over 2015.

The 2016 business plan was finalized during a meeting of CEOs of the business group’s subsidiaries at the Hanwha Building in downtown Seoul on Jan. 29. It calls for achieving the milestone of posting 100 trillion won in sales in 2020.

Hanwha Group plans to invest 3.4 trillion won in 2016, the largest-ever, and a 12 percent jump over last year’s 2.8 trillion won. The 2016 investment figure accounts for 2.8 trillion won of investments in Korea, a 12 percent surge over last year’s 2.5 trillion won, and the remaining 600 billion won is for investments abroad, a 50 percent jump over last year.

The major business areas in which the group wants to invest in include the group’s future growth engines, including photovoltaic power, distribution and leisure businesses. Hanwha Q Cells, a Hanwha subsidiary specializing in photovoltaic power business, is carrying out a project to expand the capacity of its photovoltaic power panel plant in Eumseong, Chungcheongbuk-do. If the project is completed, the plant will see its capacity rise to a combined 1.5 Gigawatts. 

Hanwha Hotels & Resorts, the group’s distribution/leisure subsidiary, is now building a deluxe resort with marina facilities in Geojae, Gyeongsangnam-do, whose dedication is to be made by 2018. The project will cost some 200 billion won in an area covering 108,900 sq. meters at Nongsori, Jangmok-myeon, Geojae City.

Petrochemical and national defense subsidiaries plan to make massive investments to solidify their core capacities. 

“We’ll make this year a year for laying a foundation for constant growth through innovation and substantial management and concentrate all energies to elevate our competitiveness to word-class levels,” Hanwha Group Chairman Kim Seung-youn said in his New Year’s message. 

Last year was significant since Hanwha Group ramped up its competitive edge in the national defense and petrochemical businesses by taking over four Samsung Group subsidiaries; the group won a license to operate a duty-free outlet in downtown Seoul; and it saw its photovoltaic power business turn a profit, participating CEOs said. In particular, Hanwha Q Cells, which registered losses until 2014 since the group entered the photovoltaic power business in August 2010, became profitable for the first time in four years. 

The business group set 2016 as a year for building a foundation for constant growth through innovation and sustainability. It plans to ramp up the competitiveness of mainstay business areas, kick-start any sagging business arenas and minimize risks by improving financial soundness. 

Hanwha Group plans to hire a combined 5,100 employees, including 1,000 freshmen employees graduating from universities and colleges this year, the same figure for hiring university graduates as last year. The 5,100 new employees include 1,000 career employees.

An artist’s conception shows a deluxe resort with marina facilities in Geojae, Gyeongsangnam-do, now under construction. (Photos: Hanwha Group)