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| GS Group Chairman Huh Chang-soo tests a wrinkle cream made by a small Korean company, Thursday, during his visit to a studio of True GS, a joint venture established by GS Home Shopping and Thai companies in Thailand in 2011. / Courtesy of GS Group |
By Park Jae-hyuk
GS Group Chairman Huh Chang-soo urged top executives to invest more in Thailand as the rapidly growing country is considered to be a strategic market for the group to expand its presence in the Southeast Asian market, the conglomerate said Thursday.
"Thailand marked a 3.9 percent economic growth rate last year, and it is expected to grow by 4 percent this year thanks to its aggressive development policy," Huh told CEOs of the group's affiliates during a two-day conference in Bangkok from Wednesday to Thursday.
"With our entrepreneurship and experience in Thailand, we should accelerate our expansion in the Southeast Asian market, seeking opportunities for faster growth."
According to the chairman, Thailand, which has been dependent on the manufacturing industry, has begun fostering digital, plant and construction industries.
The country has also drawn keen attention from foreign investors as it is developing the Eastern Economic Corridor, the eastern seaboard of Thailand which plays a key role in its economy.
The Thai government will invest 50 trillion won ($44 billion) in the region for the next five years to have the area become the center of the manufacturing industry and a logistics hub connecting ASEAN member nations, China and India.
"Excellent products made by Korea's small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have been popular in Thailand amid the Korean wave fever in Southeast Asia, so we should help Korean SMEs export their products and startups do their overseas businesses," Huh said.
"GS Home Shopping, which entered the Thai market, should play a role as a bridge for Korean SMEs and startups to expand their presences abroad."
During their two-day trip to Thailand, the chairman and chief executives also visited a studio of True GS, a joint venture that GS Home Shopping and Thai companies established in 2011.
They identified market trends and encouraged employees there.
