J's Co Holdings Establishes Philippine Subsidiary... "Investment Agreement with EVM and Nickel Mine"

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Hyowon] JSCO Holdings announced on the 25th that it will establish a local subsidiary in the Philippines, ‘JSCO PH CORP,’ for its nickel mining business.

The total capital of the local Philippine subsidiary is 210 million pesos (approximately 4.8 billion KRW), with JSCO Holdings investing 199 million pesos (approximately 4.5 billion KRW) to secure a 95% stake. Additionally, the company revealed that it has signed a formal investment contract related to the subscription of new shares with EVM (EV Mining & Development), which holds a mining license in the Philippines.

Based on the formal investment contract with EVM, JSCO Holdings plans to acquire new shares issued by EVM through the Philippine local subsidiary at the time the establishment procedures of JSCO PH CORP are completed. If the newly issued shares worth 5 billion KRW, paid as capital for the Philippine local corporation, are acquired, JSCO Holdings will secure approximately 10% of EVM’s total shares.

The company emphasized, “Considering that the foreign ownership limit for medium to large-scale mining rights (MPSA) permitted by the Philippine government is 40%, securing a 10% stake in the mining shares is a significant share that allows us to lead the nickel mining business in the Philippines.”

On the 9th, JSCO Holdings applied for an Exploration Permit (EP) for a 4,700-hectare (approximately 14 million pyeong) nickel mining project in the Surigao area of Mindanao Province with EVM and the local MGB (Mines and Geosciences Bureau). Through this investment for the new share subscription, the company plans to proceed with full-scale nickel mining, drilling, and permit applications and acquisitions in the Philippines.

Mining exploration is a procedure to analyze the nickel reserves and composition in the secured project area. The exploration permit application area will undergo drilling to select and mine the ore with the highest nickel content, which averages between 1.3% and 2.0% nickel in the region.

A JSCO Holdings official stated, “We signed this investment contract with EVM to finalize the agreement at the time the Philippine local subsidiary, which will carry out the mining project, is established. As shareholders, we plan to jointly conduct exploration and permit applications with EVM and sequentially conclude contracts related to mining rights and exclusive sales rights.”

He added, “Especially as South Korea is focusing on reducing its external dependence on raw materials for secondary batteries and the demand for nickel in secondary batteries is rapidly increasing, JSCO Holdings will swiftly complete the acquisition contract for the Philippine nickel mine and actively respond to market demand.”