LG focuses on energy for growth

LG Group said yesterday that it will launch a full-fledged effort to foster an energy-solution business and try to create synergy among all energy-related businesses scattered across its affiliates.

LG sees energy as a future growth engine along with eco-friendly car parts, eco-friendly home appliance and heath care.

The world’s third-largest smartphone maker and the world’s second-largest television maker has worked to implant on its mobile devices and smart televisions technologies, created through conversion among its IT-related affiliates.

In an executives’ meeting last month, LG Group Chairman Koo Bon-moo said the company has built its competence in the IT industry and has sufficient know-how in technology and development of products.

“We need to try to shake up the market by adding to our IT convergence capability some creative elements that can shatter the existing frames of the industry,” Koo was quoted as saying by someone who attended the meeting.

The first hint of such efforts will be revealed at the 2013 World Energy Congress to be held in Daegu on Oct. 13-17.

The triennial event is dubbed the “Energy Olympics” for its role in shaping the future of the global energy industry. The Daegu congress will bring around 6,000 people from more than 110 countries, including representatives of governments, international organizations and NGOs, according to the organizers.

In the energy congress, LG Group plans to build an LG pavilion with all of its energy-solution-related technologies - developed by LG Electronics, LG Chem, LG Uplus and LG CNS - to be exhibited together all at once. With the motto, “Smart Energy: With LG, It’s All Possible,” the company will build three zones in the pavilion, named Smart Generation, Smart Consumption and Smart Control Tower.

Meanwhile, LG President Cho Joon-ho will attend the energy leader summit, a program of the Daegu congress that will be held on Oct. 15 to discuss the key agenda items of the global energy industry with CEOs of many other energy solution providers, electricity providers and electricity-related products manufacturers.

BY MOON GWANG-LIP AND SHIM JAE-WOO [joe@joongang.co.kr]