"Building a factory in Indonesia which is in the middle of the global market is a decision that will be beneficial for the economy of Indonesia and also Hankook Tire," said CEO of Hankook Tire, Seung Hwa Suh, at the inauguration of a tire plant in Bekasi, West Java, on Thursday.
In the initial phase, he said, Hankook Tore will invest 353 million US dollars with an initial production capacity of about 6 million tires per year.
Hankook Tire also plans to have hired about 1,400 workers by 2014 and 2,800 by 2018.
"Hankook Tire is to make a strategic investment in Indonesia to meet the high demand for high-quality tires for its globally expanding business," he said.
Indonesia is considered a promising country because it is one of the world`s largest rubber producers with a total production of 2.92 million tons in 2010.
In addition, tire sales in Indonesia in 2010 increased by 23 percent from 2009, or approximately 49.5 million tires.
The factory which is worth a total of 1.1 billion U.S. dollars is planned to have four major production facilities covering an area of ​​60 hectares and will become an export base for the North American market and the Middle East as well as a regional hub for developing countries in Asia.
In addition to the factory in Bekasi, Hankook Tire also has two factories in South Korea, three factories in China, and one factory in Indonesia.
"The new plant will open an important opportunity for us to improve our global status into the top five," said Seung Hwa Suh.
Meanwhile, Minister of Industry, MS Hidayat expressed happiness for the fact that Hankook Tire has choosen Indonesia as a location to develop a global business strategy.
Head of Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) Gita Wirjawan believe the investment will improve bilateral relations between Indonesia and South Korea.(*)
A014/HAJM
Editor: Jafar M Sidik
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