OCI Launches Bold Move in New Business Ventures

Urban Development-Bio-Advanced Chemicals 'Triangular Squadron'

Completed Voluntary Retirement of 30% of Employees, Stabilizing Business by Eliminating Deficits

Investments in Urban Development of Incheon Yonghyeon·Hakik 1 Block, Pharmaceutical Bio Ventures, etc.

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Soyeon] After completing business and workforce restructuring, OCI is making a leap forward focusing on urban development, bio, and advanced chemicals. While it had previously concentrated on the solar polysilicon business, it now plans to diversify investments into next-generation growth businesses to sketch the future of its operations.

According to related industries on the 12th, OCI completed voluntary retirement for about 600 employees, accounting for 30% of its total workforce, at the end of last month. The company announced its withdrawal from the domestic solar polysilicon business in February this year and accepted voluntary retirement applications from all employees in March, recently concluding the related procedures. The polysilicon plant in Gunsan, Jeonbuk, was shut down, and many employees from that plant applied for voluntary retirement. Some personnel were reassigned to other processes. The company spent up to 20 months' salary as severance pay for the voluntary retirement employees, with restructuring costs related to the shutdown of the Gunsan polysilicon plant reaching 78.5 billion KRW.

Having streamlined its operations by eliminating deficit businesses, OCI plans to focus on next-generation businesses summarized as urban development, bio, and advanced chemicals. First, in the second half of this year, OCI will concentrate on the urban development project of Incheon Yonghyeon·Hakik 1 Block, the site of OCI’s former factory, through its subsidiary DCRE. This large-scale project, in consortium with HDC Hyundai Development Company, covers a total area of 1,546,747㎡ (approximately 467,000 pyeong) and will develop a residential complex of 13,149 units including apartments and detached houses, as well as office and commercial facilities. Construction is planned to start in the first half of the year, with the first phase of sales (2,100 units) scheduled for the second half.

In the pharmaceutical and bio sector, OCI plans to secure business momentum by investing equity in high-growth ventures. Currently, OCI has invested in four bio-pharmaceutical ventures and funds. Additionally, OCI is making investments through B&0 Bio, a 50-50 joint venture with Bukwang Pharmaceutical. Rather than direct new drug development, OCI intends to diversify risk and explore growth potential by investing equity in leading bio ventures.

In its core chemical sector, OCI will focus on highly profitable and market-expanding fields such as semiconductor-grade polysilicon and high-purity hydrogen peroxide. OCI is the only domestic manufacturer of semiconductor-grade polysilicon. If long-term supply contracts are secured, this area is expected to become a competitive business for OCI. The price is about four times that of solar-grade polysilicon. Furthermore, OCI plans to complete a high-purity hydrogen peroxide plant by 2022 through a joint venture with POSCO Chemical. OCI aims to solidify its position as a semiconductor materials company by focusing on semiconductor-grade polysilicon production and accelerating the production of high-purity hydrogen peroxide used in semiconductor and other electronic-grade products. The hydrogen peroxide production plant, invested jointly with POSCO Chemical on a 42,000㎡ site in Gwangyang, Jeonnam, will enable an annual production capacity of 50,000 tons.

An OCI official stated, "This year, we are focusing on stabilizing each business sector amid restructuring and the impact of COVID-19, and we expect to generate stable profits starting next year."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.