Select Korean companies seek to raise cash reserves

Several corporations have recently sold stocks and real estate apparently to boost liquidity and repay maturing debts amid the "three high" era of high inflation, interest rates and foreign exchange rates.

The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) on Wednesday said Daesung Holdings sold a 2% stake, or 100,000 shares, in Seoul City Gas (SCG) at 300,000 won ($210) per share in a block deal, or a bulk sale after trading hours, worth 30 billion won. As a result, Daesung's stake in the utility company has fallen to 17.6%.

Earlier on Aug. 26, Daesung also used a block deal to sell a 3% stake, or 150,000 shares of SCG for 35.7 billion won. Having raised 65.7 billion won in funds from sales of SCG stock this year, Daesung will use the money to invest in new businesses.

In the clothing industry, Handsome Corp. late next month will sell a 14.51% stake in South Cape Spa and Suite, a golf resort it operates in Namhae, South Gyeongsang Province, for 45 billion won. South Cape CEO Jung Jae-bong will buy the textile company's shares in the facility.

Kolon Materials, an affiliate 100% owned by Kolon Industries, is scheduled to sell its dyeing factory in Daegu to the asset management company STIC Alternative for 50 billion won, the second non-core asset the materials company has sold since it unloaded a plant in Yangju, Gyeonggi Province, in April for 11.5 billion won. Kolon Materials on Nov. 10 also plans to sell the land of its facility for making precision chemical products in Incheon.

In the automotive components sector, Dayou A-Tech on Oct. 14 sold a 51% stake in the Chinese affiliate of Winia Electronics, which is owned by Dayou Group, for 21.8 billion won to shore up Dayou A-Tech's financial structure.

Write to Ik-Hwan Kim at lovepen@hankyung.com