Sunday 22 October
Given that average age of a company is only 12 years, 1,400 is pretty good going.
The oldest company in the world, which was founded in 578 in Japan by a group of people from the ancient Korean kingdom of Baekje, will go into liquidation in January. Kongo Gumi dates its foundation from the year when carpenter Shigemitsu Kongo built Shitennoji. Kongo had been invited to the island country by Prince Shotoku. His descendants continuously maintained the family business, and the construction firm was named the world’s oldest company by the Economist monthly.
http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200512/200512150009.html