12 June 2008 – Ground has been broken for South Korea's top sweetmaker Lotte's first manufacturing plant in Russia, local media report.
The group will invest $85 million in the construction of the plant in Obninsk, Kaluga region. Work should be complete by autumn 2009.
The plant will manufacture Xylitol chewing gum and a variety of other products from the company's confectionery range.
Lotte is hoping to expand its presence on the Russian confectionery market, which is currently dominated by American and European companies.