'Doosan, Having Overcome Liquidity Crisis, Accelerates Transition to Renewable Energy Companies in the New Year'

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] Doosan Group, on the verge of completing its 3 trillion won-scale business normalization plan (self-rescue plan), is accelerating its leap toward becoming an eco-friendly energy group this year.

Before new businesses such as gas turbines and wind power turbines establish themselves as Doosan's new growth engines, the group plans to generate performance through overseas orders and hydrogen-related businesses.

According to industry sources on the 2nd, Park Jung-won, chairman of Doosan Group, expressed his determination to transform into an eco-friendly energy group in a recent New Year's message to employees.

Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction, which had been a strong player in the traditional thermal power and nuclear power markets, saw a sharp decline in orders due to the government's coal phase-out and nuclear power policies and the global environmental regulatory atmosphere. In April last year, amid management difficulties, Doosan Group received about 3.6 trillion won in support from creditors including KDB Industrial Bank and the Export-Import Bank of Korea.

Since then, Doosan Group has implemented a high-intensity self-rescue plan, stating that it "has drawn up a financial structure improvement plan with a bone-cutting attitude," including workforce restructuring, suspension of assets, and sale of affiliates. The controlling family, including Chairman Park, also demonstrated responsible management by donating their shares of Doosan Fuel Cell to Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction free of charge.

As stated in Chairman Park's New Year's message, Doosan plans to speed up its transition into an eco-friendly energy company this year.

Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction's biggest future growth engines, such as the gas turbine developed as the world's fifth of its kind and the wind power business, are expected to be fully launched next year. Additionally, wind power turbines, whose domestic market size is expected to grow to around 15 trillion won by 2030, are also anticipated to be fully operational next year.

Among eco-friendly energy businesses, Doosan is also achieving overseas performance in areas such as energy storage systems and combined cycle power generation. In December last year, Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction secured an order for an energy storage system in Queensland, Australia, followed by an EPC (Engineering, Procurement, and Construction) contract for combined cycle power generation in Guam, a U.S. territory.

Furthermore, Doosan Fuel Cell, which holds a 70% domestic market share in the hydrogen fuel cell sector, is increasing profits through fuel cell system supply and maintenance of fuel cell power plants. Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction plans to create synergy as the largest shareholder of Doosan Fuel Cell.

In addition, Doosan Bobcat, considered one of Doosan's cash cows along with Doosan Infracore, is expected to see increased sales this year and last due to the revitalization of the construction market in North America.

Meanwhile, Doosan Construction, which has been evaluated as having exacerbated Doosan Group's financial structure, still has a high debt ratio due to COVID-19 and housing market regulations, and is being discussed as a candidate for sale.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.