Lotte Shopping plans to set up an international headquarters locally, rumored to restart its Singapore listing plan | Lianhe Zaobao

South Korean retail giant Lotte Shopping is actively expanding into the Southeast Asian market, choosing Singapore as the location for its international headquarters, which is set to be operational by 2026. This move aims to capitalize on the growing wave of Korean pop culture sweeping the region and to solidify Lotte's position as a leading retail force. Additionally, Lotte is reportedly considering reviving its plan to list in Singapore, which was initially proposed 11 years ago, by conducting an initial public offering (IPO) on the Singapore Exchange to raise funds for future expansion in the region. Lotte Shopping is the largest chain shopping mall in South Korea and is a subsidiary of Lotte Retail. The latter announced the establishment of the international headquarters in Singapore in a statement released on Thursday (September 18). The statement noted that this international headquarters will serve as a strategic control center for the Southeast Asia region, integrating core functions such as human resources, finance, strategy, and marketing to promote the development of localized private brand businesses. Lotte Retail CEO Samuel Sanghyun Kim stated that Lotte will launch its Transformation 2.0 strategy to drive sustainable global growth and enhance corporate value. "By successfully implementing our Transformation 2.0 strategy, we will solidify Lotte Shopping's position as the preferred shopping destination for both domestic and international customers." Setting a target of 3 trillion won in overseas sales by 2030 Lotte Shopping was founded in 1979, with its first flagship shopping mall located in Seoul, South Korea. To date, it has over 14,000 stores in South Korea, including hypermarkets and supermarkets. The company is also actively expanding into overseas markets, particularly in Southeast Asia, including Vietnam, Indonesia, and Singapore. Currently, the company operates 49 stores in Indonesia and 19 stores in Vietnam, including the luxury shopping center Lotte Mall West Lake Hanoi. It also launched Lotte Mart Express convenience stores in its discount supermarket this May. Kim emphasized the significant influence of Korean pop music, movies, and television dramas on Southeast Asian consumers. He believes that this emotional connection with Korean culture is driving the growth of Lotte's retail business and strengthening long-term relationships with customers in the region. Further Reading Korean cuisine enters VivoCity supermarket, Southeast Asia's first Lotte convenience store opens Affordable collaboration with Korean Lotte to launch Lotte brand Korean food locally by the end of this year He also pointed out that Singapore, with its well-developed infrastructure, a good track record as a location for international headquarters, and a strong talent pool capable of leading Lotte's regional operations, naturally becomes the focus area for Lotte's expansion into Southeast Asia. Lotte's statement said that the company has set a long-term goal of achieving 20.3 trillion won (SGD 1.873 billion) in revenue and 1.3 trillion won in operating profit by 2030. It is expected that overseas sales will reach 3 trillion won in the same year. Considered IPO in Singapore 11 Years Ago to Raise USD 1 Billion On the other hand, according to The Straits Times, Lotte plans to conduct an IPO in Singapore before 2030. This means it will restart the plan to list in Singapore that was initiated in 2014. About 11 years ago, Lotte Shopping was reported to be interested in packaging some of its shopping center assets for listing on the Singapore Exchange in the form of a real estate investment trust, seeking to raise approximately USD 1 billion (SGD 1.27 billion). In 2014, the company announced a suspension of this listing plan. At that time, the company stated that it might reconsider the local listing plan after the global financial markets improved. The landscape of local retail malls and supermarkets has recently changed. In March of this year, Macrovalue announced the acquisition of the Singapore operations of Giant Supermarket from DFI Retail Group for SGD 125 million. This is another significant acquisition following its acquisition of Malaysian cold storage companies and Giant Supermarket two years ago. A few days ago, another supermarket operator, Hao Mart, saw its lease for the "Taste Orchard" mall on Orchard Road terminated by the landlord, OG, less than two years after opening. The tenant must restore the premises to its original condition and return it to the landlord by the end of the year at the latest. The mall faces the fate of complete closure