December 22, 2010 (Seoul, Korea) -- Hankook Tire (www.hankooktire.com), currently the seventh largest and one of the fastest growing tire companies in the world, unveiled its USD 353 million investment plan to build a new manufacturing plant in Bekasi, Indonesia. This large-scale global production center in Southeast Asia is a valuable breakthrough for Hankook Tire, as it will enable the company to become the world’s fifth largest tire company. It is also expected to support Hankook in achieving an annual output of 100 million units by 2014, a part of Hankook Tire’s mid-term business goal called the 5-1-1.

With aggressive goals for growth and smart forecasts on global demand, Hankook Tire had been searching for a strategic production base that would have a decisive role in achieving its 5-1-1 target. Among potential candidates, Bekasi, located near Jakarta, was the ideal choice for the next plant, which would provide passenger and light truck tires to customers in the global markets. The new manufacturing facility is expected to break ground in the third quarter of 2011. The construction is to be completed by September 2014, rolling out 6 million tires a year. Moreover, Hankook Tire will be considering to make additional investments in the plant to meet future needs.

The construction site expands over an area of 60 hectares (600,000m2), and has convenient access to export logistics as well as to other production infrastructure resources including electricity and workforce. These benefits will reduce costs and enhance profitability, realizing Hankook Tire’s envisioned global operational excellence.

“Hankook Tire continues its efforts to develop new growth engines through an aggressive approach in raising investment efficiency and productivity,” said Mr. Seung Hwa Suh, Vice Chairman & CEO. “The Indonesian plant is a major step in achieving our 5-1-1 goals, implementing a new production base that accommodates tire customer needs, expands sales, and strengthens Hankook Tire’s top position. We are glad to respond to our fast-growing reputation for quality around the globe by mobilizing our investment resources to build large-scale and top-notch production facilities,” Mr. Suh added.

Currently, Hankook Tire has five production facilities around the globe. With the announcements made in November on the Hungarian factory expansion and an additional plant in China, Hankook Tire’s production scale would be upgraded immensely. Another large-scale manufacturing plant in Indonesia will even reinforce Hankook Tire’s production capacity to compete with the best advantages in the world stage. By 2014, Hankook Tire expects to surpass the total annual production capacity of 100 million units and earn EBITDA of USD 1 billion.