이 기사는 2022년 02월 10일 08시02분 thebell에 표출된 기사입니다

SK Square has raised 150 billion won ($125.3 million) by issuing commercial paper to seize investment opportunities in innovative growth companies, a move at odds with its policy of shunning external debt.

The South Korean company has spent 143 billion won so far this year to invest in four businesses. They include cryptocurrency exchange Korbit (90 billion won), agritech startup Green Labs (35 billion won), chip-design company Sapeon (10 billion won) and digital human developer On Mind (8 billion won).

The money was raised via issuance of commercial paper. SK Square’s commercial paper was rated A1 by credit rating agency Korea Investors Service in December 2021.

SK Square was launched in November after being spun off from SK Telecom, South Korea’s biggest mobile carrier. It acts as an intermediary holding company for SK Group’s tech affiliates, including chipmaker SK Hynix, with a focus on investments in future growth opportunities.

SK Telecom transferred cash reserves of 388 billion won, or almost two-thirds of the total, to SK Square. But the bulk of the funds were already earmarked for its subsidiaries such as Content Wavve. In March 2021, SK Telecom, the streaming service’s then parent company, announced plans to spend 1 trillion won by 2025 to create original content.

SK Square’s cash flow entirely relies on investment returns and dividend income from its subsidiaries.

However, its investments are in the early stages and dividends are still a few months away. The short-term debt was the only option for SK Square to raise money to seize the investment opportunities.

With few liabilities transferred from SK Telecom, SK Square’s debt ratio is very low, with an estimated debt ratio of 1.4% as of the end of March 2021. Its shareholders’ equity also amounts to 6.8 trillion won.

“We used the commercial paper proceeds for new investments,” an official at SK Square said. “We will repay them with dividend to be paid by SK Hynix.”

SK Hynix recently announced a final dividend of 1,540 won per share for 2021, which represents dividend income of about 225 billion won for its parent company SK Square. (Reporting by Choong-hee Won)