- Daesung News
- Read the latest news featuring Daesung Group
| Title | Daesung head offers N.E. Asian gas pipeline (The Korea Herald,pg.8) | 1998.11.04 |
|---|---|---|
|
FROM: Wednesday, November 4, 1998 Daesung head offers N.E. Asian gas pipeline By Douglas Lee Much has been talked about massive construction works that might help jumpstart Asia's faltering economies. What mattered, however, was specifically what kind of projects and at what cost. A young Korean business leader recently came up with his own answer. "One strategy to revitalize Asia's troubled economies is a massive pipeline joint venture in Northeast Asia, one that would deliver a ready supply of cheap natural gas to major demand centers like Korea, Japan and China," said Daesung Group President Kim Young-hoon. Kim's pipeline proposal calls for developing a huge gas field in Irkuzk, Mongolia, and running a 4,115 km natural gas pipeline through Mongolia and China to Korea and Japan. At an estimated cost of $10 billion, the completed project would transport 20 million tons of natural gas to the region annually, the Daesung president said in a recent interview. Kim noted that the region including Korea, China, Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong-which Kim referred to as the Northeast Asia Triangle (NEAT)- is comprised of 24.6 percent of the world's population and about 23 percent of the world's gross domestic product (GDP). In 1997, the dynamic region accounted for 34.1 percent of the world's steel production: 78.8 percent in shipbuilding, 27.7 percent in automobiles, 43.1 percent in electronics and 33.9 percent in semiconductors. Kim said that transporting gas via pipeline is ultimately cheaper than converting it to liquified natural gas (LNG). Daesung, Korea's leading integrated energy group, controls 15 percent of the domestic natural gas market. "Natural gas is now imported to Korea by sea in the form of LNG, since it isn't connected by any gas pipelines," Kim explained. "Once the LNG reaches Korea, it needs to undergo an expensive and time-consuming process to turn it into natural gas." The Daesung president added that a more efficient distribution of natural gas resources throughout the region would help generate regional trade, enhance foreign direct investment and encourage the development of energy-related industries. Earlier this month, his proposal received a positive response at the JANCPEC Okinawa Energy Business Forum, where it was reviewed by high-level government officials from Japan and China. Kim said that he would like to build the highest quality pipeline in the most cost-efficient way. Doing this, he added, would require NEAT countries to utilize their internal capabilities. If the project seems overwhelming, Kim said he is confident that Daesung is up to the job. The energy-oriented group has long experience constructing pipelines, laying down 4500 km in Korea. "Our company would provide the experience and expertise needed to build the regional pipeline, while Japan would supply the design and engineering know-how, and China would provide quality labor," he said. Should the project get off the ground, Kim predicted that it would start as an international consortium but recommends that the venture be privatized as soon as possible. "As a private venture," he said, "the new enterprise could seek funds from international financial markets to relieve the participants' financial burden." However, accelerating the privatization process would require attracting foreign investors. And the only way to achieve this, he said, is to set up a totally independent management body that could consistently pursue a rational business policy beneficial to investors. "National governments must also be persuaded to grant the project's management the autonomy needed to carry out its business, including finance,"he said. |
||
| NO | Title | Date |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Only Trend Readers Can Survive (Don... | 2002.09.07 |
| 1 | Daesung head offers N.E. Asian gas ... | 1998.11.04 |
