SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korean chemicals-to-retail conglomerate Lotte Group will invest a total of 50 trillion won ($44.05 billion) over the next five years, its holding firm said on Tuesday.
The group plans to invest about 12 trillion won in 2019, partly to expand facilities at chemical plants in South Korea, Indonesia and the United States, Lotte Corp said in a statement.
It said the 2019 amount represents one of the group's largest investment plans for a single year, exceeding the 11.2 trillion won spent in 2016 on the purchase of a petrochemical firm.
The investment plan comes after group chairman Shin Dong-bin was released from jail this month on a suspended sentence in a bribery case.
"The plan reflects our will to quickly normalise management activities that recently slowed, secure competitiveness for future growth and to contribute to revitalising the national economy," Lotte said.
In its retail business, which includes shopping malls and supermarket chains, Lotte said it would focus on improving its online service using big data and artificial intelligence technology. It also said it would continue to build shopping malls.
Lotte's push into China's retail sector has been bumpy in recent years due to a lingering row between the Seoul and Beijing governments over a U.S. missile defence system deployed in South Korea on land provided by Lotte.
Along with the investment plan, Lotte said it would hire about 70,000 people over the next five years.
($1 = 1,134.9600 won)
(Reporting by Ju-min Park; Editing by Christopher Cushing)
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