SM Shipping Passes KOSDAQ Preliminary Listing Review... "Committed to Rebuilding the Shipping Industry"

Woo Oh-hyun, Chairman of SM Group.

[Asia Economy Reporter Dongwoo Lee] SM Line announced on the 1st that it has officially entered the KOSDAQ listing process after receiving approval for the preliminary listing examination request submitted to the Korea Exchange on July 12.

SM Line, an affiliate of SM Group established by acquiring most of Hanjin Shipping's organization in 2016, currently focuses on the shipping division led by CEO Park Ki-hoon, while maintaining a separate construction business division.

Woo Oh-hyun, Chairman of SM Group, stated, “We expect to assist domestic export companies struggling due to the global logistics crisis and container shortage,” adding, “Using SM Line's initial public offering (IPO) within this year as a catalyst, we will make company-wide efforts to revive and rebuild Korea's shipping industry and grow SM Line into a company that significantly contributes to the development of the shipping sector.”

As of last year, SM Line recorded annual sales of approximately 1 trillion KRW and an operating profit of 138.2 billion KRW, and this year, it has further expanded its performance. The second-quarter results showed a 16.7% increase in sales and a 29.2% increase in operating profit compared to the first quarter.

SM Line's shipping division container transport services consist of four West Coast America routes calling at Long Beach, Seattle, Vancouver, and Portland, and nine Asia routes calling at Shanghai, Haiphong, Ho Chi Minh, and Bangkok. The company operates a total of 18 vessels and recently deployed temporary ships to help alleviate logistics difficulties for domestic export companies.

Since 2016, when shipping companies stopped calling at the Port of Portland on the U.S. West Coast, SM Line started container services there in 2019, pioneering new routes. SM Line continues to expand intermodal services transporting containers from terminals via rail to various inland locations in the U.S., and is actively considering opening East Coast America routes calling at New York and Savannah in the future.

CEO Park Ki-hoon of the shipping division expressed, “Since its establishment, SM Line has steadily built its foundation and is confident that it already possesses the capabilities of a listed company in both scale and substance,” adding, “After listing, we will focus on strategies to acquire new assets and expand service networks to become a robust global container shipping company that remains resilient against future recessions or any external environmental changes.”

The company plans to submit a securities registration statement to the Financial Services Commission within this month and aims for a KOSDAQ listing in November, preparing for the IPO. The lead underwriter is NH Investment & Securities.

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