Golden Century to Issue 42 Billion KRW Convertible Bonds... "Transforming into Korea's Rare Earth Specialist Company"

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Hyowon] Golden Century announced on the 29th that it has decided to issue convertible bonds (CB) worth 42 billion KRW to promote new domestic businesses such as eco-friendly rare earth advanced materials.

Golden Century plans to drive structural changes as a Korean company through large-scale fundraising. First, it intends to strengthen its control step-by-step by expanding the Korean board of directors while restructuring its business. Since Golden Century Korea (the Korean corporation) will independently carry out new domestic businesses, it is also considering changing its company name to suit the business purpose and relocating its headquarters to a Korean office.

Golden Century selected the rare earth and other advanced materials business as its first new domestic business and has begun construction of an apartment-style factory in Busan. It plans to import rare metals such as rare earths refined from Vietnamese mines and process and supply them as high-quality, high-purity materials. Additionally, the existing tractor business, which serves as a stable source of revenue, will continue to expand by developing autonomous tractors and other projects.

Furthermore, as Golden Century has restructured its business around eco-friendly advanced materials such as rare earths and the tractor business, it purchased land in Samseong-dong, Gangnam, and started construction of a new headquarters building. With the Busan factory and the new Gangnam headquarters as bases, it plans to leap forward as a leading domestic eco-friendly advanced materials specialized company.

A company official stated, “Over the past year, we have been working on transforming into a Korean company through changes in the Korean board of directors and major shareholder share transfer agreements, while simultaneously promoting new businesses in Korea to reduce dependence on Chinese operations and drive structural changes. Based on this fundraising, we will establish a global supply chain for advanced materials such as rare earths and autonomous tractors in Korea and make a fresh leap as a Korean company.”

He added, “The purchase prices for the Gangnam new headquarters and Busan factory were 107 billion KRW and 72 billion KRW, respectively, which are cheaper compared to the appraised values of 110.3 billion KRW and 75.1 billion KRW. These two locations will serve as base camps for Golden Century’s domestic business promotion.”