SEOUL - The head of Tata
Group, India's largest business group, will visit South
Korea later this month, signaling the conglomerate's
intention to publicize its name, which is relatively
unknown among the general populace in South Korea,
industry sources said on Wednesday.
Tata Group
chairman Ratan N Tata will visit South Korea from March
28-30 to finalize a deal for acquiring South Korea's
Daewoo Commercial Vehicle Co, which formerly belonged to
the now-defunct Daewoo Motor Co, the sources said.
Tata Motors, the automobile arm of Tata Group,
had announced on February 18 that it would acquire a 100
percent stake in the South Korean commercial car maker
for 120.6 billion won (US$102 million).
The
Indian car maker is one of the largest companies in the
group, with an annual production of 210,000 vehicles. It
is the world's sixth-biggest commercial vehicle
producer, accounting for 55 percent of the Indian
commercial automobile market.
"Most South
Koreans are still unfamiliar with Tata Group, and the
group's executives are very eager to publicize its name
in South Korea," a source said.
Some industry
insiders speculate that the Tata Group chairman's
planned visit may be a prelude to an expansion of the
conglomerate's activities in a number of sectors in
South Korea.
Tata Group is India's largest
conglomerate with 80 companies in a wide range of
industries, including engineering, consumer products,
chemicals and services.
After holding a press
conference at Daewoo Commercial Vehicle's Gunsan plant,
some 274 kilometers from Seoul, on March 29, Tata will
meet government officials and business representatives
during his visit, according to the sources.
Tata's initial plan to meet with President Roh
Moo-hyun was canceled due to the ongoing impeachment
proceedings against Roh, during which he was stripped of
his presidential duties.
Ravi Kant, executive
director of Tata Motors' commercial vehicle business
unit, will also visit South Korea this week and hold a
press conference on Friday on the company's future
business plans, sources said.
(Asia
Pulse/Yonhap)
Mar 18, 2004
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