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Hyundai Oilbank's gas station in Mt. Kumgang
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Major South Korean gas and oil companies are building or planning to build gas and refilling stations in North Korea. GS Caltex plans to supply fuel at a gas station on a 6,600-sq.m site just outside the Kaesong Industrial Complex. The refinery is partnering with Jiudau, a non-profit organization that specializes in inter-Korean cultural events which has secured the site. Until now, Hyundai Oilbank, in partnership with Hyundai Asan, was the only South Korean company operating a gas station in the North.
SK Gas Co. is building the first liquified petroleum gas (LPG) refilling station near North Korea's Mt. Kumgang. Scheduled to open in November, it will sell LPG for heating and cooking to local companies. Korea LP Gas set up a facility to store and sell LPG and high-pressure gas at the Kaesong Industrial Complex last month.
Suffering a slowdown at home, the South Korean companies are turning their eyes northward in the hopes that North Korea can provide new business opportunities. South Korea's LPG industry has been losing market share to liquefied natural gas (LNG). If North Korea's economy starts to pick up, the industry believes that demand for LPG will be strong before other alternatives are available. The firms appear to be setting a long-term strategy, establishing a foothold in the North Korean market and waiting for the right time to reap the rewards.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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