[THE INVESTOR] Korean conglomerate CJ Group was chosen as one of this year‘s 7 World-Changing Companies to Watch by US business magazine Fortune, the company said Thursday.

The selection comes on the company’s efforts to revive the economy of a small village in Ninh Thuan, Vietnam, which reflects the group’s corporate philosophy of “creating shared value.”

 

Since 2013, the group has educated farmers there how to grow red chilis in cooperation with the Korea International Cooperation Agency.

It has also worked on improving the farming infrastructure and supporting the local community, fixing water channels and renovating education facilities. Thanks to such efforts, the harvest has increased and local farmers’ income jumped fivefold, the magazine explained.

CJ, whose business spans from filmmaking to food, received the Friendship Award from the Vietnamese government in late 2015, in recognition of its contributions to enhancing Korea-Vietnam business ties and developing the Southeast Asian country. Since opening its first branch office in the country in 1998, the group has so far invested a total of $300 million (354.6 billion won) in a wide range of business sectors, the group said. 


By Kim Bo-gyung/The Korea Herald (lisakim425@heraldcorp.com)