Miltap Ventures into Resource Development Project, Industry 'Focuses' on Success Prospects

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Hyowon] Recently, Miltop, the largest shareholder of Melpas, is reported to have sold its shares on the market due to a forced sale, drawing investors' attention.

Since the report on the 15th that Miltop is entering the overseas resource supply business, suspicions about the business's substance have triggered a market sell-off, leading to the forced sale. In response, a Miltop official expressed frustration over doubts about the authenticity of the business.

According to Miltop on the 1st, Chairman Kim Geun-young, who oversees the company's overseas business, is promoting resource export projects such as cobalt through Dr. Denis Mukwege, an obstetrician and gynecologist from Congo.

Dr. Denis Mukwege is a 2018 Nobel Peace Prize laureate who, since 1999 during the civil war in the Democratic Republic of Congo, has treated approximately 50,000 women who were victims of sexual violence and has appealed to the international community to end the civil war. In 2019, he visited Korea and delivered a keynote speech at the Women’s Peace International Conference.

Dr. Mukwege has been awarded the French government's Special Human Rights Prize in 2008, the United Nations Human Rights Prize, the 2009 African Person of the Year Award, and the 2014 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, Europe’s most prestigious human rights award. In 2016, he also received the Seoul Peace Prize.

Chairman Kim of Miltop, having developed a friendship with Dr. Mukwege and communicated over several years, signed a contract designating Miltop as the cobalt export partner of the Congolese government while Dr. Mukwege was exploring various ways to enhance cooperation between Korea and Congo at the request of the President of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Additionally, internal circumstances in the Democratic Republic of Congo, including recent severance of relations with China and the search for new partners, are also interconnected factors.

It is explained that the background behind the small company Miltop’s success in securing the resource supply contract, despite failed negotiations involving major domestic corporations and government-level introductions, lies in these circumstances.

A company official stated, “Primary imports of copper and cobalt will begin as early as November, and visible results will be shown within the year,” adding, “The Melpas general shareholders’ meeting and the capital increase scheduled for the 7th will proceed without any issues.”

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