Daewoo International eyes farming business

Daewoo International Corp., a trading firm focused on overseas resource development, said yesterday it will stretch its business to agricultural resource development to seek growth and help reduce Korea`s reliance on imported grain.

The trading company has established a new unit to focus on development of food resources like corn and beans, biofuel assets like palm oil and cassava, and reforestation projects, it said.

"The company set up the unit to secure overseas farming resources by maximizing the company`s global network and human resources," the company said in a statement.

"We will start investing in resource-rich countries including those in Southeast Asia."



The company unveiled the plan after holding a two-day meeting of more than 50 executives stationed abroad and those from the head office in Seoul on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Daewoo International senior executive vice president Rim Chae-moon, who is in charge of resource development, said the company will find a "third growth engine," after development of oil/gas fields as the first and mineral resources as the second.

Currently, Daewoo International has a stake in 15 resource development projects around the world -- nine oil/gas projects and six mineral resources projects.

The company is the operator of three gas development projects in Myanmar and two exploration projects in Uzbekistan.

In November, the company picked Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. as the builder of the natural gas development facilities for gas fields in Myanmar.

The first gas supply from Myanmar will be possible in 2013, with a daily output of 500 million cubic meters of gas, company officials said.

(yoonmi@heraldm.com)









By Kim Yoon-mi