Hyosung to make spandex in India

Hyosung Chairman Cho Hyun-joon talks at the Magnetic Maharashtra Convergence 2018 in Maharashtra, India. [HYOSUNG]

Hyosung Chairman and CEO Cho Hyun-joon agreed to build a spandex factory in Maharashtra, western India by 2019, the company said Tuesday.

The decision came after a meeting with Narendra Modi, India’s Prime Minister, on Sunday in Mumbai.

Cho has been expanding his presence in the global business scene and the meeting with the Indian Prime Minister came only about ten days after Cho met with Vietnam’s Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

It will be the first spandex factory Hyosung has built in India.

The company is injecting $100 million for the first phase construction of the spandex factory to be built on a 40-hectare (100-acre) space in an industrial complex in Maharashtra. More capital will be injected over the course of the construction, but the company did not disclose the exact amount.

India has a big spandex market, and it has been growing at an average of 16 percent annually from 2012 through last year.

As Hyosung already has a 60 percent market share in the country’s spandex market, it hopes the new facility will help it expand to take 70 percent of the market.

Spandex is a synthetic fiber used mostly in stockings and swimsuits for its elasticity. In India, spandex is mostly used in making hijabs, lingerie, sportswear and diapers.

Apart from Hyosung’s textile business, Cho also discussed ways to expand the company’s heavy industries and automated teller machine businesses in India.

Modi said the Indian government will offer a favorable business environment for Hyosung so that the company can continue investing in the country.

BY KIM JEE-HEE [kim.jeehee@joongang.co.kr]