Banner of OCI Materials is changed to SK
SK Group has acquired a controlling stake in industrial gas maker OCI Materials and plans to get actively involved in the semiconductor industry.OCI Materials held an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders on Tuesday and agreed to change the company’s name to SK Materials. The shareholders appointed SK Holdings CEO Cho Dae-sik and executive director Jang Yong-ho as new board members at the meeting. OCI Materials President Lim Min-kyu, who took the seat in 2014, will remain in the position.
Tuesday’s meeting came after SK Holdings’ decision in November to buy 49.1 percent of outstanding shares of OCI.
SK Group said OCI’s gas products will help it manufacture semiconductors and liquid crystal display (LCD) panels. The specialty gas such as nitrogen trifluoride (NF3) is essential to produce them and OCI is the world’s top supplier of the NF3, with 40 percent of the global market.
The merger is also expected to strengthen SK Group’s memory chip business. Chipmaker SK Hynix is the group’s key revenue source.
Industry insiders say the company’s NF3 output will grow to 7,600 tons this year from 6,600 tons last year as semiconductor manufacturers’ demands for the gas grows.
OCI Materials’ total sales and operating income were 338 billion won ($277.8 million) and 112.8 billion won each last year, according to the company.
SK Group said it plans to enter foreign markets including China by taking advantage of its relations with foreign corporations.
SK Materials is the only semiconductor manufacturer in Korea and Japan that operates NF3 manufacturing facilities in China as well.
BY KIM YOUNG-NAM [kim.youngnam@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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