S.Korea's STX to spin off shipping division

South Korea's general trading company STX Corporation has announced plans to divide its shipping division into a new company specializing in shipping and logistics, called STX Green Ocean, and an existing general trading unit STX.

The board of directors approved the plan during a meeting on Monday, with the spin-off set to take place on July 3.

STX plans to divide existing shares in an 80:20 ratio between STX and the new STX Green Ocean. The company filed a preliminary examination application for the spin-off re-listing with the Korea Exchange on the same day and will finalize the approval of the divide at an extraordinary general shareholders meeting in June.

The spin-off is expected to enhance the specialty and competitiveness of its trading business, improve business efficiency and accelerate the growth of its shipping unit.

STX's strategy is to open the world's first business-to-business (B2B) platform for commodities and industrial goods this year, challenging the misconception that commodities and industrial goods cannot be traded online.

The shipping division, which currently focuses on chartering and managing ships, will expand its value chain through the newly created STX Green Ocean and actively explore future growth engines.

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