[Special Stock] Hancom MDS Rises on Expectations for Subsidiary Frontis' Entry into Blockchain NFT Business

[Asia Economy Reporter Minwoo Lee] Hancom MDS stock is showing strong performance. Its consolidated subsidiary Hancom Intelligence acquired a 55% stake in Frontis, a metaverse (extended virtual world) platform developer, raising expectations for future entry into the blockchain and non-fungible token (NFT) markets.

As of 10:49 AM on the 1st, Hancom MDS stock price recorded 2,085 KRW, up 5.84% compared to the previous day. This is believed to be influenced by expectations of new metaverse business ventures through its subsidiary.

Hancom Intelligence, a consolidated subsidiary of Hancom MDS, became the largest shareholder by acquiring a 55% stake in the metaverse platform developer 'Frontis' on July 2nd.

Founded in 2001, Frontis has continued its reliability evaluation business for weapon systems and automotive electronics, as well as Internet of Things (IoT) business, before entering the extended reality (XR) platform development business including virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) since 2017. Through this, it launched the virtual education and meeting platform 'XR Pandora' and plans to release 'XR Lifetwin,' a giant virtual city housing offices and shopping centers, in the second half of the year. Its technological capabilities were recognized to the extent that it was selected last year for the 'Global ICT Future Unicorn Development Project' hosted by the Ministry of Science and ICT.

Combining the capabilities of Frontis and Hancom Intelligence, it is expected to make a full-scale entry into the metaverse market. In addition to Hancom Intelligence, collaboration is anticipated with other companies within the Hancom Group such as Hancom Mobility, Hancom Robotics, Hancom Inspace, and Arowana Gold Exchange (Hancom Gold Exchange). If Frontis's 'XR Lifetwin' enables virtual land or building transactions through blockchain network-based non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and other digital assets in the virtual city, various services from Hancom Group companies like Arowana Gold Exchange could be utilized.

According to market research firm Strategy Analytics (SA), the global metaverse market is expected to grow more than sixfold from approximately 51 trillion KRW currently to about 315 trillion KRW by 2025.