South Korea’s SK Innovation Co. said Sunday it will invest up to 3 trillion won ($2.49 billion) throughout the new year in its chemicals, oil exploration and battery businesses to accelerate its global growth.

The company decided in a year-end executive meeting presided by its President Kim Joon to make the investments geared towards new growth and business innovation, although 2017 would pose difficulties and challenges from a weak global economy and sluggish demand. It will also hire more employees over the next five years, up to 1,200, to support the cause.

The lion’s share of of the investments is presumed to go to the merger and acquisition (M&A) deal that the firm has been pushing ahead through its subsidiary SK Global Chemical Co. SK Global Chemical has been seeking to buy British Petroleum (BP)’s stake in Shanghai SECCO Petrochemical Company – the joint venture between BP and China’s Sinopec Group – which runs a naphtha cracking center to produce 900,000 tons of ethylene a year. BP owns a 50 percent in Shanghai SECCO, while the remaining stake is owned by Sinopec (30 percent) and Shanghai Petrochemical Company (20 percent).

To augment its battery business, the firm plans to add two more production lines in its facility in Seosan, South Chungcheong Province, to boost production of batteries for electric vehicles. It also in last June decided to expand capacity to produce to produce ceramic-coated separator, an upgraded lithium-ion battery membrane which is a core component in electric cars, at its plant in Jeungpyeong, North Chungcheong Province.

SK Innovation is expected to have raked in record-high operating profit for full 2016, with its third-quarter operating income reaching 2.4 trillion won last year, making the firm to push ahead with mega investment plan throughout 2017.

By Jung Wook

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