이 기사는 2022년 02월 09일 08시07분 thebell에 표출된 기사입니다

South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries Group has established AMCBIO in a bid to make a foray into the biotech industry amid its ongoing efforts to secure a new growth engine since its listing last year.

According to the Fair Trade Commission (FTC), AMCBIO has been newly incorporated into Hyundai Heavy Industries Group in December 2021. The business purpose of AMCBIO encompasses various areas of new drug development, including research and business development advisory services.

Experts expect that the group will enter the new drug development business with the establishment of AMCBIO. It has reportedly contacted several domestic biotech firms since Hyundai Heavy Industries went public in September 2021.

“From the preparation stage for the listing, Hyundai Heavy Industries has been continuously considering entering the new drug development business to discover new growth engines,” said an industry source.

Separately, Hyundai Heavy Industries Holdings, the holding company of Hyundai Heavy Industries Group, Asan Medical Center, and Kakao, the operator of South Korea’s top mobile messenger app KakaoTalk, joined hands to enter the digital healthcare market. They established a joint venture called Asan Kakao Medical Data in 2019 to develop a big data platform, and acquired Mediplus Solution, a healthcare service company, in August 2021.

“It has been over three years since Asan Kakao Medical Data was established, but it hasn’t shown any remarkable results,” said an industry source. “Kakao launched Kakao Healthcare CIC (company-in-company) last year to enter the digital healthcare market, so it remains to be seen how it will create synergies with Asan Medical Center.”

Kakao established its in-house online healthcare platform in December 2021 to offer lifecycle-based smart healthcare services. Hwang Hee, a former professor at Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, was appointed to lead Kakao Healthcare CIC.

Hyundai Future Partners, the investment arm of Hyundai Heavy Industries Holdings, is likely to lead the group’s biotech business. The holding company established the investment firm in 2019 by injecting capital of 5 billion won ($4.17 million). In November 2021, the holding company formed a 34 billion won fund in partnership with Mirae Asset Capital.

Hyundai Future Partners is expected to play a significant role in discovering future growth engines of Hyundai Heavy Industries. (Reporting by Sook Hong)