South Korean conglomerate Lotte Group has shifted focus to Vietnam’s retail market after a decision to withdraw from China in 2017, following China’s retaliation against the company over the U.S. anti-missile system deployment in South Korea.
The company is looking to make Vietnam its third-largest market after Korea and Japan. Lotte Group entered Vietnam in 1998 with its fast-food business Lotteria and has since expanded to 270 locations. The firm operates 15 Lotte mart stores and two department stores in Vietnam, with more projects underway.
The firm has also been expanding businesses in other Southeast Asian nations, including Indonesia, where it invested $3.9 billion in a large-scale petrochemical plant, which is expected to start operating by 2025….