LG Chem Ltd., South Korea’s leading chemicals maker announced on July 8, 2022, that it had issued global green bonds worth the US $300 million to secure its position in the competition of battery materials business and finance more investments in the eco-friendly business. Its intention is to raise funds in order to improve its place in materials for rechargeable batteries such as cathodes and separators.
The parent company, LG Energy Solutions Ltd. said the US dollar-dominated bonds carry a fixed interest rate of 4.436 percent. The company stated that it succeeded in issuing global green bonds which is a type of international bond issued and distributed in the global financial market.
LG Chem claimed that the company shall fully spend the proceeds from the debt sale on developing materials for electric vehicle batteries, including cathode materials and separation membranes. The purpose of green bonds is to raise money to support environmental projects and other eco-friendly infrastructure projects.
After spinning off its battery-cell manufacturing subsidiary, LG Energy Solution, LG Chem is making efforts to strengthen its business competitiveness. The company aims to secure a total of 3.5 trillion won ($2.7 billion) in order to provide funding for this eco-friendly project this year. It had already raised 2.5 trillion won through LG Energy’s solutions initial public offering in the January of 2022.
According to the company, it will invest 10 trillion won ($7.7 billion) in battery materials, eco-friendly plastics, and drug development by 2025. LG Chem announced its first-quarter earnings in late April, promising to invest around 4 trillion won in new plants and equipment annually down the road.
Following the announcement of the debt sale before the regular market session, LG Chem’s shares opened sharply higher. As of 9:29 a.m., LG Chem shares were trading at 549,000 won, up 4.77 percent from the previous day.
