[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Min-young] SK ecoplant is officially entering the initial public offering (IPO) process.
On the 21st, SK ecoplant announced that it sent a Request for Proposal (RFP) for listing on the Korea Exchange to major domestic and international securities firms. After receiving proposals from securities firms and selecting preliminary candidates, the final underwriting consortium will be chosen by next month. The company aims for a listing as early as the second half of next year, with the specific schedule to be finalized in consultation with the selected underwriters.
Cho Sung-ok, head of SK ecoplant Corp. Strategy Center, said, "We have begun selecting underwriters with the goal of listing in 2023 and have officially started the IPO process. Through an economies of scale strategy, we have successfully completed multiple M&As of environmental companies, securing our position as the largest environmental operator in Korea. Having successfully entered the eco-friendly energy markets such as hydrogen fuel cells and offshore wind power, we expect our corporate value to be evaluated more highly in 2023."
SK ecoplant has expanded its environmental and renewable energy businesses in line with SK Group’s strengthened ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) management policy. In 2020, SK ecoplant launched a full-scale eco-friendly drive by acquiring Environmental Facilities Management Co., Ltd. (formerly EMC Holdings), a major domestic environmental platform company. Since then, it has acquired six additional environmental companies, solidifying its leading position as Korea’s number one in water treatment, number one in industrial waste incineration, number two in medical waste incineration, and number three in waste landfill.
Last month, SK ecoplant acquired TES, a global leader in electric and electronic waste with the largest number of bases worldwide, entering the global IT device and electric vehicle battery recycling and reuse business. The company expanded its business from traditional waste management such as incineration and landfill to the recycling market, pursuing zero waste.
To expand its renewable energy business, SK ecoplant has aggressively promoted hydrogen fuel cell, RE100, offshore wind power, and solar power projects. Together with Bloom Energy, a global fuel cell manufacturer based in the U.S., SK ecoplant established BloomSK Fuel Cell and has been mass-producing eco-friendly solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) with world-class power generation efficiency at its Gumi plant in Gyeongbuk since October 2020. The company plans to rapidly expand production capacity to over 200MW starting in 2023. In February this year, SK ecoplant and Bloom Energy also succeeded in demonstrating eco-friendly hydrogen production using the country’s first solid oxide electrolyzer cell (SOEC), which separates hydrogen from water without emitting carbon dioxide.
Last year, SK ecoplant strengthened its strategic partnership by investing approximately KRW 300 billion to acquire shares in Bloom Energy. Additionally, by securing management rights of Samkang M&T, a manufacturer of key offshore wind power infrastructure, the company has laid the groundwork to lead the offshore wind power market, which is gaining attention as an eco-friendly renewable energy source. In January this year, SK ecoplant entered the Vietnamese rooftop solar power business by partnering with local company Nami Solar, expanding its renewable energy business into Asia and establishing a foundation to secure domestic carbon emission credits.
SK ecoplant is also making efforts to improve financial stability, including credit ratings and debt ratios. The company expects cash flow to improve as performance growth in the environmental and renewable energy sectors is anticipated starting this year.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
