Anna Jiwon Park has been covering the politics at The Korea Times since the summer of 2024, when she joined the press pool for the Office of the President in Korea. Prior to that, she spent about five years reporting extensively on financial markets, regulatory authorities and the financial industry. She joined The Korea Times in 2019 after spending eight years as a broadcast journalist at Arirang TV, Korea’s leading global broadcaster, covering politics, defense and culture.
Hyundai Oilbank to make third attempt at an IPO
A gas station operated by Hyundai Oilbank / Courtesy of Hyundai Oilbank
By Anna J. Park
By Anna J. Park
Hyundai Oilbank is making its third attempt to go public after two failures, filed for a preliminary examination listing process with Korea Exchange earlier this week.
The result is expected in February as the process usually takes about 45 business days.
If it passes the preliminary round, the company is expected to submit a prospectus in March or April, based on fourth quarter earnings of this year. If everything goes as planned, the oil refining company could go public within the first half of the year, maybe as early as May.
Hyundai Oilbank's first attempt to go public was in 2012 ― the company finished the preliminary review, but withdrew the listing due to a plunge in oil prices amid the U.S.-Iran conflict and weakened investment sentiment. The second attempt in 2018 failed due to strengthened auditing criteria and accompanying delays in related procedures.
The company, founded in 1964 as the first private oil refiner in Korea, has an estimated value of up to 10 trillion won ($8.5 billion). Its revenue has improved recently due to increases in oil prices. First quarter income stood at 14.6 trillion won, a 42.4 percent jump from the same period last year. The accumulative operating profit up to the third quarter was 851 billion won, a stark contrast to last year's 514 billion won loss over same period.
Through the IPO, the company hopes to raise two trillion won, which will be invested in expanding its eco-friendly energy business. The company plans to lower the proportion of oil refining in its business portfolio from the current 85 percent to 45 percent by 2030. In doing so, the company hopes to expand the sustainable and eco-friendly chemical materials, hydrogen and bio sectors up to 70 percent of its future portfolio beyond the latter date.