Korea’s KCC Glass to invest $525 mn more in Indonesian plant

KCC Glass Corp., a major South Korean construction materials manufacturer, is set to invest an additional 700 billion won ($524.8 million) in its Indonesian glass plant to develop the facility as a cluster to expand its overseas business into other markets such as Southeast Asia, Oceania and the Middle East.

KCC on Friday unveiled the investment plan after a blowing-in ceremony for the plant, the first overseas factory of South Korean glass producers, in the Central Java town of Batang.

The South Korean company has spent 300 billion won since 2021 on building the facility, which can produce 440,000 tons of float glass a year. The factory will ramp up the company’s total annual production capacity to 1.74 million tons.

“The Batang plant will make Indonesia a key player in the global glass industry,” KCC Chairman Chung Mong-Ik said at the ceremony on Thursday.

CAPITAL RELOCATION TO BOOST BUILDING MATERIALS DEMAND

The company is scheduled to start the factory’s commercial operations as early as the end of this month after heating its melting furnace.

Indonesia is Southeast Asia’s top economy, which expanded by more than 5% in the last two consecutive years with enormous growth potential due to its young population.

Other South Korean companies such as Hyundai Motor Co. and LG Energy Solution Ltd. have already invested in Indonesia to take advantage of the country’s rapid economic growth.

The country is located between the Indian and Pacific oceans, geographically optimal for business expansion, KCC said.

The government plans to relocate its capital from Jakarta to Nusantara in East Kalimantan, which KCC expects to increase demand for construction materials going forward.

Write to Ji-Hye Min at spop@hankyung.com
 

Jongwoo Cheon edited this article.