LG Energy Solution was listed on the Korea Stock Exchange (KOSPI) on the 27th and rose to the top of the battery market at once. LG Energy Solution CEO Young-soo Kwon (Vice Chairman) said, “This is the starting point for a new 100 years, and we will become a company that will be trusted and loved by customers.”
LG Energy Solution held a new listing ceremony at the Korea Exchange in Yeouido, Seoul on that day. The event was attended by Vice Chairman Kwon, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Chang-sil Lee, key executives and employees, and Chairman of the Korea Exchange Byung-doo Son.
Vice Chairman Kwon said, “Since we took our first steps as a pioneer in the rechargeable battery business in Korea in 1992, after a not short period of 30 years, the listing has finally come to fruition.” He continued, “Today's listing is the fruit of challenge and innovation capabilities accumulated over a not short period of 30 years. The late chairman Bon-moo Koo, who has set the battery business as a next-generation growth engine early and has provided support both physically and mentally, emphasizing bold investment and R&D, would be delighted.”
In particular, LG Energy Solution entered the stock market by leaving various records during the initial public offering (IPO) process. In the previous demand forecasting for domestic and foreign institutional investors, the competition ratio was 2023:1. This is the highest level of competition in the history of an IPO based on the stock market. In the public offering for general investors, the maximum amount of subscription margin was collected about 114 trillion 106.6 billion KRW, and the number of subscriptions (4,44,470 cases) also broke the record for the most since the prohibition of duplicate subscriptions.
Through this listing, LG Energy Solution has secured an investment of about 10.2 trillion KRW. LG Energy Solution plans to expand their global production base capacity and spur future preparations such as next-generation battery R&D and investment in new businesses. LG Energy Solution announced that they will invest 5.6 trillion KRW by 2024 to expand their production capacity in North America through a registration statement, and will also invest 1.4 trillion KRW and 1.2 trillion KRW in production plants in Europe and China, respectively. They also decided to invest 645 billion KRW in the Ochang Plant in Korea by next year to build a cylindrical battery production line for electric vehicles.
In addition, they announced on the 26th that 3 trillion KRW will be invested in the construction of a third joint battery plant with General Motors (GM). If the joint venture of North American customers and the sole investment of LG Energy Solution are combined, the North American production capacity is expected to reach 200 gigawatt hours (GWh). In addition, LG Energy Solution plans to invest 1.6 trillion KRW in R&D for next-generation batteries.
By Staff Reporter Tae-jun Park (gaius@etnews.com)