Hyungji Fashion Group said on the 30th it will streamline key real estate asset to boost financial flexibility and ramp up investment in future growth businesses, including senior tech.
Hyungji Fashion Group will push to improve efficiency of real estate asset held by the group, including the Hyungji Global fashion complex center and Busan Art Malling. Funds secured through asset redeployment will be invested in new businesses based on cutting-edge technology and materials.
The rebalancing targets include the Hyungji Global fashion complex center in Songdo International City, Incheon, and the Art Malling mixed-use shopping mall in Hadan-dong, Saha District, Busan.
The Hyungji Global fashion complex center, where Hyungji's headquarters are located, is a mixed-use facility of about 64,000 square meters of total floor area near University of Incheon Station. It consists of office facilities, retail facilities, and officetels.
Art Malling, a representative mixed-use shopping mall in western Busan, spans from eight basement levels to 17 aboveground floors, with a total floor area of about 58,896 square meters. It operates as a local landmark offering a variety of everyday services, including shopping, dining, culture, medical care, and weddings.
In addition, Hyungji Square in Goejeong-dong, Saha District, Busan; the Hyungji Gaepo Building and Hyungji Gangnam Vision Center in Gaepo-dong, Gangnam District, Seoul; and land owned in Idong-eup, Cheoin District, Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, and Ujeong-eup, Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, were included among the asset efficiency targets.
Hyungji has begun the process of selecting a professional sell-side advisor and structuring asset to boost asset utilization and secure investment funding. The company expects to secure liquidity in the several hundred billion won range through this asset rebalancing.
The secured funds will be intensively allocated to the five future growth areas selected by the group. The five areas are wearable robots and apparel for physical humanoids; advanced functional materials and smart textiles; global technology cooperation and research and development (R&D); an artificial intelligence (AI)-based fashion and retail platform and digital transformation (DX); and overseas market expansion.
Hyungji plans to shift its business structure beyond its existing fashion business to a company that combines advanced technology and materials with a focus on senior tech. In particular, it plans to foster senior tech, which has growing potential as Korea enters a super-aged society, as a core new business. Recently, Hyungji Robotics, a subsidiary of Hyungji Elite, agreed to exclusively supply wearable robots in Korea in cooperation with Shanghai Zhongshai Robot Co. in China.
A Hyungji Fashion Group official said, "This asset rebalancing is not a simple real estate sale, but a strategic redeployment to maximize corporations value by flexibly using capital," adding, "We will focus the secured investment capacity on the five future growth areas, including senior tech-based wearable robots and smart textiles, to build a sustainable next-generation growth foundation."