'Take-off toward
a Beautiful Future'

Chairman Park confirms his group's bid for acquiring Daewoo E&C,
Korea Express

Celebrating the 60th anniversary of its inception, Kumho-Asiana Group has unveiled its new corporate identity designed to symbolize its futuristic take-off.
Kumho-Asiana Group Chairman Park Sam-koo said in a ceremony for unveiling the new CI at his head office at Shinmunro, downtown Seoul, on February 1, "We have introduced a new corporate identity due to the need to remove confusion arising from two different CIs ―Kumho and Asiana ― and prepare the future with an articulated and unified image."The new CI, symbolizing an encounter of Kumho and Asia as well as that of Kumho Asiana and its customers, indicates the group's determination to make it a "corporation making a take-off toward a beautiful future,"group officials said.
The new CI, introduced for the first time in 20 years, was designed by Lando, a U.S. CI design company. The group plans to produce a manual for each subsidiary's new CI during this month before allowing it to use the new one, they said.In a successive meeting with reporters, Group Chairman Park reconfirmed his group's willingness to take over Daewoo E&C. Park ruled out its acquisition based on leveraged buyout, saying, "Acquisition of Daewoo E&C should bring about benefits to both acquisition and the construction company."Some consortia are reportedly seeking to adopt the LBO method in their bid for taking over Daewoo E&C.
Chairman Park made it clear that the group has no problem in acquiring the funds necessary for taking over both Daewoo E&C and Korea Express, a logistics company, which is expected to be put on the block around the end of this year. "Right now, the group may mobilize 1.5 trillion won in cash.
There is no problem in acquiring the funds needed to take over not only Daewoo E&C, but also Korea Express,"he said.
He said acquisition of Daewoo E&C would cost about 3 trillion won. Financial investors will participate in Kumho-Asiana's acquisition bid, but Kumho-Asiana itself plans to mobilize two-thirds of the needed fund, he added.
Kumho-Asiana Chairman Park admitted that his group's investment pattern has been too conservative. He noted that the decision to take over the two companies was made after an intensive consideration, adding that its preparations for acquiring Daewoo E&C have been already finished.
AGGRESSIVE MANAGEMENT APPROACH ― Kumho-Asiana Group has come up with an aggressive business plan for the year 2006 ― reaping 800 billion won in ordinary profits on sales worth 11 trillion won, and investing 1.8 trillion won, a 50 percent surge over 2005.
Outlining its 2006 business plan and strategies on December 30, the business group said it would aggressively make investments into such areas as R&D, education, IT and social services in a bid to maintain a constant growth, enhance its competitive edge and put into practice "sharing"management policies.
The business group will be engaged in active overseas exploration projects as part of its efforts to beef up the global competitive edge of the group's core industrial growth engines ― tire, airline and construction. It plans to expand investments into new business areas centering on logistics and tourism & leisure industries while actively considering M&As to some companies related directly to the group's core capabilities.
Kumho-Asiana Group Chairman Park Sam-koo said in his New Year's message that he summed up the 2006 management topics as "stability and take-off."Describing the year 2006 as the first year of its efforts to develop Kumho-Asiana into a top five business group, Group Chairman Park called on its executives and staff to explore the future in a forward-looking and dynamic manner. He urged them to explore futuristic growth engines, make massive investments into existing business areas, expand overseas projects and enter new markets through M&As. Marking the 60th anniversary this year since its inception, the business group attaches priority on strengthening business capabilities in the Chinese market during the year 2006. The business group, which has made investments into China so far, will place its investment focus to Vietnam other than China. Its investment into China will continue into the year 2006.
In the first half of this year, Kumho Tire will dedicate its plant in Tianjin, China capable of producing 5.25 million tires. The project, which will cost $180 million, started last April. Kumho Tire will hold a ground-breaking ceremony on its third plant in Changchun, China with a capacity of producing 3.25 million tires each year. Altogether, Kumho Tire's three plants in China, including the existing one in Nanjing will have a capacity of churning out 20 million tires annually from 2008.
Asiana Airlines plans to expand flight routes to China by launching two or three new flight routes.
Kumho Rent-A-Car will raise its rental fleet to 1,000 by 2008 when the Beijing Olympics is slated to be held. Kumho-Asiana Group plans to foster logistics and tourism-leisure industries as the group's growth engine industries. The group plans to enter door-to-door logistics service and third party logistics markets by acquiring major logistics companies with the goal of developing it into an integrated logistics group. A combination of golf courses, resorts and entertainment parks as well as airline, car rental and expressway bus businesses will bring about synergetic effects, group officials said. nw

Kumho-Asiana Group Chairman Park Sam-koo

Chairman Park waves his group's corporate flag carrying a newly designed CI.