[Click eStock] "Unid, the Biggest Beneficiary of Global Market Expansion in 'Potassium-based' Sector"

Hana Financial Investment forecasted on the 27th that Unid will benefit from the expanding global demand market for potassium (chemical symbol: K)-based chemical products. Unid is a chemical company affiliated with the OCI Group that produces and sells basic inorganic chemical products such as potassium hydroxide (KOH) and potassium carbonate (K2CO3).

Yoon Jae-sung, an analyst at Hana Financial Investment, stated on the 27th, "The potassium market, including potassium carbonate for carbon dioxide (CO2) capture, storage, and utilization (CCS/CCUS) and potassium hydroxide for direct air capture (DAC), is expected to expand significantly," adding, "This is a very positive signal for Unid, the global No. 1 company in the potassium sector."

According to Hana Financial Investment, ExxonMobil acquired Denbury, which owns the largest CO2 pipeline in the United States, for $3.9 billion (approximately 6.4 trillion KRW) in July last year to actively pursue the CCUS business. It has already signed CCS contracts with industrial gas company Linde, fertilizer company CF Industries, and steel company Nucor. The DAC pilot facility began operation in December last year.

Aramco plans to build the world's largest CCUS hub in Jubail, Saudi Arabia, in collaboration with Schlumberger (SLB) and Linde, aiming for operation by 2027 to capture up to 9 million tons of CO2 annually. It also plans to establish a DAC pilot facility with Siemens in Germany.

The world's largest existing DAC project is Oxy's Stratos project, with about 70% of the plant facilities currently completed. The project plans to capture 500,000 tons of CO2 with an investment of 1 trillion KRW and aims to expand to 100 million tons in the future.

Analyst Yoon said, "Global oil and petrochemical companies see it as difficult to achieve complete net zero (carbon net emissions of zero) in the short term and are continuing large-scale investments in carbon capture facilities."

He added, "Given this trend, structural growth in the potassium sector used for carbon capture is highly likely," and predicted, "The valuation of Unid, which is undervalued at a price-to-book ratio (PBR) of 0.5, will be reassessed."

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