Hyundai Asan eyes rights offering amid worsening finances

SEOUL, Feb. 16 (Yonhap) -- Hyundai Asan Corp., a South Korean company operating
businesses in North Korea, said Monday it will conduct a rights offering worth 20
billion won (US$14.1 million) to beef up its working capital.

The plan, finalized at a board meeting earlier in the day, underscored how
Hyundai Asan has been grappling with its poor cash reserves since its tour
programs to North Korea were suspended in July last year when a South Korean
tourist was fatally shot by a North Korean soldier.
The subscription date for the rights offering was set at March 30-31 with payment
due on April 2, Hyundai Asan said in a regulatory filing.
On Feb. 4, Hyundai Asan Chief Executive Officer Cho Kun-shik told reporters the
company will have difficulty staying afloat unless the tours resume by April.
Many observers say the tours are unlikely to resume anytime soon. Tensions on the
Korean Peninsula recently spiked again following intelligence reports that the
North is preparing to test-fire a long-range ballistic missile.
Observers say the North's recent saber-rattling is both a retaliatory move
against Seoul's hard-line policy towards Pyongyang and an attempt to increase
leverage before U.S. President Barack Obama finalizes his policy on the communist
state.
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