South Korea's Hyundai Merchant Marine Co. led gains among shares of Hyundai Group companies after the conglomerate said it plans to sell assets to raise KRW3.3 trillion ($3.1 billion). Hyundai Merchant is the second-largest sea cargo carrier in the country.
Bloomberg, citing an e-mailed statement by Hyundai Group, said that the conglomerate will sell Hyundai Securities Co., two other financial units and a hotel to raise as much as KRW1.3 trillion. Hyundai Merchant plans to raise about KRW1.5 trillion by selling stakes in container terminals and restructuring its bulk-cargo operations.
South Korea's three biggest shipping companies face a cash crunch as KRW3 trillion of bonds are due for repayment in the next two years, the report said.
Meanwhile, Hyundai Group plans to seek foreign investment for Hyundai Merchant and sell additional shares in Hyundai Elevator. The group also intends to carry out an initial public offering of Hyundai Logistics Co., Bloomberg said.
Hyundai Merchant has KRW1 trillion of bonds to pay in the next two years, compared with KRW678 billion in cash at the end of September, the report said.
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