LG Group to invest 15 tln won in 2010, up 29 pct

By Lee Youkyung
SEOUL, Jan. 12 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's LG Group plans to increase its
investments this year by 29 percent from a year earlier to 15 trillion won
(US$13.35 billion), with its electronics unit to receive the lion's share, the
group said Tuesday.

LG set its revenue target for this year at 135 trillion won, up 8 percent from
the previous year, the company said in a statement.
The 15 trillion won investment includes 3.7 trillion won in research and
development, compared with 3 trillion won last year, the company said.
"The record high investment is aimed at developing a future growth engine," the
company said in the statement.
Under the investment plan, LG will spend a total of 10.8 trillion won on its
subsidiary LG Electronics Inc., the world's third-largest maker of mobile
handsets. The electronics company deals in smartphones, next generation mobile
handsets, smart TVs, solar batteries, light-emitting-diode panels and
three-dimensional panels.
The group's 2010 investment plan also calls for LG Chem Ltd, the country's top
chemical producer, to use 2.3 trillion won in developing lithium-ion batteries
for mobile handsets and personal computers. The company will place some outlays
in future growth engines, including lithium-ion batteries for electric-powered
vehicles and liquid-crystal-display (LCD) glass, it added.
The group also said it will funnel 1.9 trillion won to its telecommunications and
service areas, including fourth-generation mobile technology and overseas energy
resources.
ylee@yna.co.kr