Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin.

Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin was elected as chairman of the board of directors of Japan Lotte Holdings, making his control over Lotte companies in Korea and Japan official.

 
His election as chairman of the board of directors of Japan Lotte Holdings is expected to give his plan to list Lotte Hotel a boost.

Chairman Shin has promised to overhaul the structure in which Japan Lotte Holdings controls Lotte Group through Lotte Hotel. The listing of Lotte Hotel is the first step of efforts to restructure the governance of Japan Lotte Holdings.

Japan Lotte Holdings held a board of directors’ meeting on March 18 and approved Lotte Group Chairman Shin’s election as chairman of the board, Lotte Group said on March 19.

Nikkei, formally known as The Nihon Keizai Shinbun, reported that Chairman Shin will take the helm of the management of Lotte companies in Korea and Japan.

The financial daily said Chairman Shin was preparing for listing Lotte Confectionery shares in Japan and expanding Lotte Group’s hotel business in Korea to Japan.

A family feud over the management rights of Japan Lotte Holdings came to a head between Chairman Shin and his elder brother and Chairman Shin Dong-ju of SDJ Cooperation last year.

The latter once served as vice chairman of Japan Lotte Holdings. But this year’s board of directors of Japan Lotte Holdings took place calmly.

It implies that Chairman Shin has already secured the reins of the holding company, business sources said.

Chairman Shin will take office as chairman of the board of directors of Japan Lotte Holdings on April 1. The late founder and honorary chairman Shin Kyuk-ho had held the position through 2017, but it was vacated as founder Shin was inducted as honorary chairman.

Chairman Shin is expected to take office as the owner of the Chiba Lotte Marines, a professional baseball team in Japan’s Pacific League based in Chiba City, replacing honorary chairman Shin, who died on Jan. 19.

Chairman Shin’s election as chairman reconfirms Japan Lotte management’s strong confidence and solidifies his position as a leader responsible for Lotte management in Korea and Japan, Lotte Group said.

Lotte Chemical’s plant in Yeosu. (Photos: Lotte Group)

Lotte Group Accelerates Plan to Nurture Petrochemical Business as Part of Core Portfolio

Lotte Group Chairman Shin’s announcement to nurture the petrochemical business as a core part of its portfolio through M&As has shifted the limelight to corporate growth.

Lotte Chemical ranks first in terms of producing ethylene among Korean chemical companies. Lotte Chemical is a huge chemical company, which stands shoulder to shoulder with LG Chem.

Many people know that Lotte is a logistics group, but the chemical business unit, including construction business, accounted for 33.3 percent of the group’s total sales in 2018, emerging as one of its core businesses.

In an interview with the Japanese newspaper Nikkei on March 5, Chairman Shin revealed a plan to aggressively expand business in the petrochemical sector through M&As.

“An ethylene plant was built in the state of Louisiana, the United States, last year, and an additional $1 billion investment will be made this year to expand production capacity to 1.4 million tons, a 40 percent jump from 1 million tons,” he was quoted as saying. Lotte Group is considering acquiring a Japanese chemical company, he added.