[THE INVESTOR] Hanwha Group on June 30 denied a news report that the the company was seeking to acquire a global aircraft engine manufacturer in the latter half of this year.

Earlier in the day, the Maeil Business News reported that the nation's No. 1 defense manufacturer is contacting with five companies  with 500 billion won to 1 trillion won (US$430 million to US$870 million) in sales that are supplying parts to top defense companies. 

The nation’s 10th largest conglomerate has become the nation’s No.1 defense manufacturer with 4 trillion won in sales following last year’s acquisitions of Samsung Techwin and Samsung Thales.

Despite its dominance in Korea, Hanwha has almost no presence in overseas markets. The group aims to become a major player in the global defense market with the value-added, lucrative aircraft engine business.

Korea’s aircraft manufacturing market is US$270 million, making up a tiny 0.6 percent of global sales.

“In order to become a major engine player, we need technological track records accumulated for more than 20 to 30 years. It is not easy to achieve that in the short term,” a Hanwha executive was quoted as saying by the newspaper.

“We aim to jump into the inner circle by acquiring a top-tier engine company.”

(theinvestor@heraldcorp.com)