(Photo= Yonhap news)

 

[Alpha Biz= Reporter Kim Sangjin] On the 2nd, the Financial Supervisory Service announced that a total of 36 companies have been designated as the "main debt group" (주채무계열), which are required to undergo financial stability evaluations from bond banks. Notably, four new groups, including Coupang, Hoban Construction, Ecopro, and Celltrion, have been included. SK Group has emerged as the group with the highest total borrowings.

According to the Financial Supervisory Service, as of the end of last year, there were 36 main debt groups with total borrowings exceeding 2 trillion 161.8 billion won and credit balances from banking institutions exceeding 1 trillion 322.2 billion won. The banking credit balance for these groups stood at 338.9 trillion won as of the end of last year, an increase of 16.3 trillion won (5.1%) compared to the previous year's credit balance (38 groups totaling 322.6 trillion won).

Designating main debt groups allows bond banks to annually assess the financial structures of major corporate groups. Through this process, groups experiencing financial deterioration are encouraged to enter into separate agreements to improve their financial structures. According to banking regulations, groups are classified as main debt groups if their total borrowings at the end of the previous year exceed 0.1% of the nominal gross domestic product (GDP) of the previous year, and their banking credit balances at the end of the previous year exceed 0.075% of the total credit balances for all corporate entities in the banking industry.

Coupang, Ecopro, Hoban Construction, and Celltrion were newly included in the main debt group this year due to increased borrowing for expanded investments and other factors. Hyundai Department Store, Netmarble, and DN have exited the main debt group due to debt repayments. SeAH was excluded from the selection criteria due to insufficient total borrowings. Taeyoung initiated joint management by bond financial institutions, while Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering was excluded from the list as it was acquired by the Hanwha Group.

Among the groups designated as main debt groups this year, SK, Hyundai Motor, Samsung, Lotte, and LG ranked highest in terms of total borrowings. There was a change in ranking compared to last year, with SK (from 2nd to 1st) and Hyundai Motor (from 1st to 2nd) swapping positions. Samsung dropped from 3rd to 4th place, while Lotte rose from 4th to 3rd place. Woori Bank ranked highest among bond banks with the most main debt groups, with a total of 11, including Samsung, LG, Hanwha, POSCO, and CJ. Industrial Bank (9), Shinhan Bank (8), Hana Bank (5), and KB Kookmin Bank (3) followed.

As of the end of April this year, the number of affiliated companies belonging to the 36 main debt groups was 6,421, a decrease of 19 (0.3%) from the 6,440 affiliated companies belonging to the 38 main debt groups last year. By group, Hanwha had 888 affiliated companies, SK 865, Samsung 624, Hyundai Motor 488, CJ 406, LG 338, and Lotte 297. Compared to last year, there were significant changes in the number of affiliated companies for SK (+119), LG (-87), and Hyundai Motor (+65), mainly due to fluctuations in overseas subsidiaries.

 

 

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