Lotte Chemical plans to sell all of its 75.01 percent stake in its Pakistan unit to focus on strengthening its higher-value materials business.
The 192.4 billion won (US$156 million) stake will be sold to a local chemical company to streamline the South Korean company’s business with a focus on advanced materials and eco-friendly products.
Lucky Core Industries, a Pakistani chemical company, will take over the entire 75.01 percent stake in Lotte Chemical Pakistan Limited (PSX: LOTCHEM), a unit that mainly produces purified terephthalic acid (PTA). Funds from the sale are expected to bolster its advanced materials segment and make further inroads into sustainable chemical products while upgrading the existing petrochemical products used as feedstock for plastics.
The sale of the Pakistani unit means that Lotte Chemical will no longer engage in PTA production. It shut down the domestic PTA production line in Ulsan, South Korea, in 2020.
The sale is still going as planned after last week when Novatex Limited changed its decision to acquire 75 percent shares of the South Korean company’s subsidiary in Pakistan. Novatex Limited had initially expressed its interest in acquiring control of 1.13 billion voting shares of LOTTE Chemical Pakistan.
Lotte’s scrip at the bourse was trading at Rs. 28.2, up by Rs. 0.65 or 2.36 percent, with a turnover of 2.59 million shares on Monday.
