KT&G's new CEO attends groundbreaking ceremony for next factory in Indonesia

KT&G's new CEO Bang Kyung-man (fifth from right) and other officials pose on Friday at the groundbreaking ceremony for the company's second and third factories in Indonesia. [KT&G]

KT&G's new CEO, Bang Kyung-man, attended the groundbreaking ceremony on Friday for the Korean cigarette maker's second and third factories in Indonesia, which the company plans to establish as its largest export production base.

Mr. Ban's participation was his first official overseas involvement since becoming CEO.

The ceremony took place on Friday in Surabaya, Indonesia. In addition to Mr. Ban, about 80 other key officials attended the ceremony, including East Java Governor Adi Karyono, Indonesian Ministry of Investment Undersecretary Andy Maulana, and Commercial Attaché Han Jeong-ho of the Korean Embassy in Indonesia.

KT&G's second and third factories in Indonesia are located on a total area of ​​approximately 190,000 square meters (2.04 million square feet) and have a combined annual production capacity of up to 21 billion cigarette sticks. Scheduled to begin operations in 2026, these factories will raise KT&G's total annual production capacity in the country to 35 billion sticks, solidifying the Southeast Asian country as the company's “largest global production base” for exports primarily to Southeast Asia. It is expected to become a reality.

After the groundbreaking ceremony, Mr. Ban visited KT&G's first Indonesian factory in Surabaya and met with employees.he also visited the company Asia Pacific Headquarters in Jakarta The Indonesian subsidiary's West Jakarta branch oversees regional performance and monitors market conditions.

“Indonesia serves as our main global production base, driving the expansion of our export operations in the Asia-Pacific and Middle East markets,” said Mr. Bang. “We will continue to develop our global production base in Indonesia as a core growth engine for the company.”

Written by Seo Ji-eun [seo.jieun1@joongang.co.kr]