Hanwha to announce plans to enhance shareholder value in H2

South Korea’s Hanwha Corp. discussed on June 10 its ESG activities in the first half of this year and is set to announce plans for enhancing shareholder value in the second half.

On Friday, the conglomerate held a meeting of its ESG committee to review this year's ESG performance so far, which included green bond issuance, high ESG ratings achievement and the declaration of a corporate governance charter.

Hanwha issued green bonds worth 150 billion won ($117.2 million) in January to boost its secondary battery and solar power facilities. Also, it has developed a smart solution to remotely monitor work processes in local and overseas mine sites. Called HATS, or Hanwha As a Total Solution, it has reduced costs and industrial disasters as well as enhanced productivity, Hanwha said.

In addition, the company earned “A” ESG ratings from two local rating agencies, Korea Corporate Governance Service and NICE Investors Service. It was thanks to the company’s consistent efforts in ESG activities such as joining the carbon disclosure project (CDP) led by global non-profit organization CDP Worldwide and publishing annual sustainability reports, Hanwha added.

Hanwha set up an ESG committee under its board of directors in March 2021. In the following month, it founded a discussion group within the committee to regularly report on the company’s ESG performance.

As of June 2022, Hanwha manages the committee's 10 divisions, including governance, stakeholder communications, environment, social responsibility, risk management, information protection and compliance. A Hanwha chief safety officer leads each division.

The company will announce plans for enhancing shareholder values later this year. The plans may include raising the dividend payout ratio, stock buybacks and boosting investor relations, Hanwha said.

Write to Kyung-Min Kang at kkm1026@hankyung.com
Jihyun Kim edited this article.