CJ Group of the Republic of Korea on Thursday offered 115 scholarships, worth a total VND500 million (US$21,740), for excellent but impoverished students in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong.

The scholarships are part of CJ’s annual programme to demonstrate its corporate responsibility to society, the group said in a statement.

Over the past six years, CJ Group has granted more than 600 scholarships to poor pupils and students in the province to help them cover their tuition and living expenses.

The group said it will expand the scope of scholarships to students in other provinces and areas where it is doing business.

During a meeting with the National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan in Korea early this month, leaders of CJ Group emphasised the importance of community service and committed to volunteer activities for the Vietnamese people.

Since the establishment of a representative office in HCM City in 1998, CJ Group has expanded to more than 17 business lines including food and food ingredients, animal feed production and animal husbandry, breeding animals and entertainment. To date, the group has invested about $880 million in the Vietnamese market . — VNS