Lotte Group Wants to Expedite IPO of Hotel Lotte

Lotte Group vice chairman and Lotte Corp. president Hwang Gak-kyu has expressed his intention to expedite the initial public offering (IPO) of Hotel Lotte if the conditions are ripe for it.

Hwang met reporters after attending the Fair Trade Commission’s meeting with CEOs of the nation's top ten conglomerates at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) on May 10.

He said, “We want to proceed with the IPO as soon as the conditions are met. However, We still need more preparations. We need to improve the hotel's earnings ratio and investment value.”

For Lotte Group, the listing of the hotel is necessary to establish the “One Lotte” governance system for chairman Shin Dong-bin, as Japan’s Lotte Holdings Co., a holding company of Lotte Group, currently holds a 99 percent stake in Hotel Lotte Co.  

However, the planned listing has not shown any signs of progress after a Seoul court sentenced Shin to 2 and a half years in prison in February for giving bribes to a foundation run by ex-President Park Geun-hye's friend in return for business favors.

Hwang also showed expectations for the group’s subsidiary in China. At the summit with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on the 9th, President Moon Jae-in said, “I want to thank the Chinese government which helps solve problems one by one, such as resumption of group tours to South Korea, sale of Lotte Mart in China and resumption of Lotte World theme park construction in Shenyang.

The complex shopping mall in Shenyang is the first indoor theme park project set up by Lotte Group overseas. It is also the group’s biggest project in China. Seven affiliates of Lotte Group have been pushed ahead with the project from 2008 to build the complex featuring a shopping mall, theme park, hotel and apartments on the total area of 1.45 million square meters. The construction has been stopped at the end of 2016 by the Chinese government on the grounds that Lotte had not adequately followed through on administrative procedures.