Woo Oh-hyun, SM Group Chairman, Reveals Growth Strategies Including Route Expansion... "We Will Establish Our Position in the Global Market"

Preparing for a 'Quantum Jump' Leveraging IPO as a Stepping Stone

Woo Oh-hyun, Chairman of SM Group

[Asia Economy Reporter Dongwoo Lee] Woo Oh-hyun, Chairman of SM Group, announced on the 10th a growth strategy for a quantum jump, stating, "We will strive to firmly establish SM Shipping in the global shipping market."

SM Shipping revealed that it will undertake route expansion, container box augmentation, purchase of second-hand vessels, consideration of new ship orders, relocation to a new headquarters, establishment of a digital logistics system, strengthening of ESG management, and support for export shippers, using the initial public offering (IPO) planned within the year as a stepping stone.

The company plans to continue expanding its network in the Asian region by enhancing its sales capabilities on the trans-Pacific route and participating in the K-Alliance. It has also decided to further increase the number of container boxes needed for this purpose. To respond quickly to market conditions, it has completed the purchase of second-hand container ships.

During the first half of the year, the Seoul office will be relocated to the office building of Technomart located in Gwangjin-gu. This is to establish an excellent location with good transportation networks and a pleasant environment.

Efforts to build a digital logistics system are also being accelerated. SM Shipping continues its activities in the Global Shipping Digital Consortium (GSDC) this year as well, sharing technology and data with various stakeholders in the shipping and logistics industry and strengthening its digital technology competitiveness. The company plans to apply a user-friendly design to its website in the first half of the year to make cargo booking and tracking easier.

SM Shipping is also strengthening ESG management. The company plans to continuously invest in environment, labor, human rights, ethics, and social contribution, and to respond promptly to the environmental regulations of the International Maritime Organization (IMO). It will also focus on cooperation with various stakeholders in the shipping industry, including shipping companies, partner companies, port terminals, and local communities.

Support for domestic shippers facing difficulties due to a shortage of shipping capacity is also underway. The 6,500 TEU-class vessel ‘SM Ningbo’ has been urgently assigned to the trans-Pacific route. This vessel will carry export cargo and depart from Busan Port on the 30th of this month, heading to Long Beach (LA), USA.

Previously, the 6,500 TEU-class vessel ‘SM Busan,’ which was additionally deployed on the trans-Pacific route since December last year, departed Busan on the 8th and was assigned to the Canada route, replacing the existing Panamax size (4,200 TEU) vessels and supplying additional shipping capacity.

Park Ki-hoon, CEO of SM Shipping, said, “We will not be complacent with the operating profit results of 2020, and we will proactively prepare to become a company that can generate operating profits in any environment in preparation for the post-COVID-19 era.”

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