STX issues new shares worth W80b to expand global business

South Korean trading company STX said Friday it had decided to initiate a paid-in capital increase of 80 billion won ($58 million), in a bid to finance funds for expanding its global secondary battery businesses and Trollygo, the company's new business-to-business trading platform to be launched next month.

According to STX, the firm held a board of directors meeting at the STX headquarters in Jung-gu, central Seoul, to decide new issuance of a total of 7.36 million common shares. The prices for the new shares will be announced on Dec. 6.

"APC Mercury, one of STX’s major shareholders, will be participating in the paid-in capital increase process and buy 10 billion won's worth of newly issued shares," an official from STX said.

The new shares will be listed on Korea Composite Stock Price Index on Jan. 5, after allowing existing shareholders to subscribe for new shares first.

The issuance of new shares comes as STX plans to secure necessary funds for expanding its global secondary battery businesses, such as nickel, lithium and graphite operations, the company said.

In August, STX established its Indonesian headquarters, and the company said it expected to start its sales and transportation of nickel in Indonesia in January.

In addition, the newly acquired funds will be spent to expand potential markets for Trollygo, the company's B2B online transaction platform for industrial goods scheduled to go into operation starting next month. The funds will also be used to expand the number of STX's strategic logistics bases for transporting wood pellets.

“As a company that specializes in secondary battery materials, we will expand and strengthen our supply chains around Southeast Asia, South America, and Africa,” an STX official said.

"We will increase our expertise in trading raw materials, industrial goods, and eco-friendly resources, and take the lead in changing the paradigm of trade transactions through Trollygo," he said.