[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Hyowon] Hansol Home Deco is showing strong performance. This is interpreted as attention being drawn to the fact that it holds a large-scale plantation amid soaring pulp prices.
As of 10:06 AM on the 22nd, Hansol Home Deco is trading at 1,895 KRW, up 45 KRW (2.44%) from the previous trading day.
This year, the price of pulp, a raw material for paper, has risen by about 25% on average. According to Hansol Paper's semi-annual report, compared to last year, the prices of pulp (based on hardwood) and waste paper in the first half of this year increased by 13.1% and 14%, respectively.
According to the industry, the international pulp index rose 46% from 142.5 at the end of last year to 207.8 in September this year. Additionally, the shortage of containers caused sea freight costs for transporting pulp to more than triple compared to last year, further driving up paper prices.
Hansol Home Deco is known to be conducting logging operations in a plantation in the Gisborne area of New Zealand's North Island. In 1996, Hansol Home Deco became the first Korean company to enter the overseas forestry business in New Zealand, planting radiata pine used for construction materials, pulp, and plywood on a large-scale plantation of 7,000 hectares. This area is equivalent to eight times the size of Yeouido.
The company expects the scale of logging in the New Zealand plantation to reach approximately 700 billion KRW by 2034. Hansol Home Deco's New Zealand subsidiary estimates it can generate cumulative operating profits of up to about 140 billion KRW.
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