News Briefing

toktok newsletter will keep you up-to-date with the latest news on SK and affiliates. Effective from March 29, 2021, SK Holdings was renamed “SK Inc.”

 

 

 

SK Inc.(formerly known as SK holdings) held an online deal closing ceremony to mark the completion of its acquisition of a 70-percent stake and management rights of French CMO Yposkesi, known for its unparalleled technical capabilities for gene and cell therapy (GCT). SK Inc. is acquiring Yposkesi through its CMO subsidiary SK pharmteco, based in Sacramento in the U.S. The deal is expected to enable SK Inc. to build a global CMO operation structure that not only covers chemically synthesized drugs but also includes biomedicine to provide breakthrough therapy products to the global market including the U.S., Europe, and Asia. The deal also helps SK Inc. to establish a bio-pharma value chain that encompasses development of new drugs through SK biopharm and production of drug substances for chemically-synthesized and biological products. With the acquisition of Yposkesi as a start, SK Inc. plans to strengthen its CMO business, which has a high growth potential. The company’s strategy is to differentiate itself from its competitors by focusing its investments in the development of breakthrough therapy and CMO business, both of which have high technical barriers, and expand into the bio CMO business market, which is difficult to enter but creates high added value. Meanwhile, SK pharmteco’s revenue in 2020 grew about seven-fold compared to 2016, which was before the company’s global expansion, to record approximately KRW 700 billion. Such growth is attributed to the integrated operation of its Korean (SK biotek), Irish (SK biotek Ireland), and U.S. (AMPAK) businesses and the special circumstances driven by Covid-19, and the revenue is projected to reach KRW 1 trillion within the next two to three years. SK pharmteco is also viewed as having established itself among the top five global CMOs that can successfully manufacture global active pharmaceutical ingredients in terms of its scale, profitability, production capacity, and technical capabilities with a target to go public in 2023.

 

 

 

 

SK Inc. (formerly known as SK holdings) held its 30th annual general meeting of shareholders. Based on the stand-alone financial statement for 2020, SK Inc. announced that its revenue increased by 7% year-on-year to record KRW 3,474 billion with its operating profit up by 12% year-on-year to record KRW 1,658 billion. Included in the agenda submitted at the annual general meeting were approval of the financial statement; amendment of part of articles of incorporation; appointment of an independent director who will serve as a director and member of the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors (BOD); and approval of the remuneration of directors. Before presenting the agenda for the meeting, CEO of SK Inc. Jang Dong-hyun said, “This will be the inaugural year for the company to fully focus on its four core businesses, including advanced materials, green, bio, and digital, in order to grow as a ‘Sophisticated Value Investor’ strongly supported by our shareholders.” It was followed by approval on the revision of the English name of SK holdings and partial amendments to the articles of incorporation related to continued innovation of governance centered around the BOD. With the decision at the meeting, the company’s English name was revised from SK holdings to “SK Inc.,” aimed to reflect its strategic direction and identity as an “investment-focused company.” In addition, a new policy was introduced that stipulates that concrete action plans be included in its Corporate Governance Charter in order to firmly establish transparent and sound governance, and the move toward BOD-centered business management is expected to accelerated as the Board’s role was expanded to include evaluation and determination of remuneration of internal directors. Last year, SK Inc. was listed on the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index (DJSI World) for the ninth consecutive year and became the first Korean company to be selected as “Industry Leader (top-performing company)” in the category of Industrial Conglomerates for two years in a row, being recognized for its commitment to ESG-focused business management.

 

 

 

 

SK IE Technology held a meeting for its Board of Directors on March 26 to decide to invest approximately KRW 1,130 billion to build its third and fourth lithium-ion battery separator (LiBS) plants in Europe in Silesia Province, Poland. It is the largest single investment to date to be carried out by SK IE Technology. Separators are essential materials that directly impact the safety and performance of lithium-ion batteries and they account for approximately 15 to 20% of the cost of production of batteries, which demonstrates how critical they are for the growth of the electric vehicle and battery industries. Plant no. 3 and no. 4 to be built in Poland by SK IE Technology is respectively equipped with a production capacity of 430 million m², which totals 860 million m². Combined with the production capacity of 680 million m² from the existing plant no. 1 and no. 2, the total production capacity for separators in Poland alone will reach 1,540 million m² per year. SK IE Technology plans to begin its construction of plant no. 3 and no. 4 during 3Q of this year and begin manufacturing of separators from the end of 2023. Plant no. 1 begins its production in 3Q of this year while plant no. 2 is scheduled to begin production in 1Q of 2023.

 

 

 

 

On March 30, SK E&S announced that a final investment decision (FID) was taken on the Barossa-Caldita offshore gas field project, which it has been exploring since 2012, and the company will begin production of LNG from gas reserves of more than 70 million tons. In addition, the company plans to utilize its carbon capture & storage technology that enables capturing and eliminating carbon dioxide generated in the process of producing natural gas in order to produce “CO2-free and low-carbon LNG.” The Barossa-Caldita offshore gas field, which the company is jointly developing with Australian energy company Santos, is located in the northern territory of Australia. The natural gas reserves confirmed so far in the Barossa gas field, which SK E&S is scheduled to develop first, are estimated to be more than 70 million tons, and considering the amount of natural gas deposit in the northern part of the Barossa field still under evaluation and in the Caldita gas field, the overall production volume is projected to increase. Holding a 37.5-percent stake of the project, SK E&S plans to invest USD 1.4 billion, equivalent to its stake in the USD 3.7 billion project, over the course of next five years to provide Korea with a total of 1.3 million tons of LNG per annum for 20 years beginning from 2025.