Korean parent mulling options, Lotte Chemical Titan clarifies amid report of sale, share price spike

KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 19): Lotte Chemical Titan Holdings Bhd (KL: LCTITAN ) said no decision has been made by its South Korean parent amid news reports of a potential disposal that triggered a spike in its share price. Lotte Chemical Corporation is “considering various strategic measures” related to the company but have yet to make any decision so far, Lotte Chemical Titan said in a three-sentence exchange filing on Wednesday in response to the news report. Shares of Lotte Chemical Titan surged as much as 30.6% on Wednesday amid a report that the petrochemical company may be sold by its Korean parent. The stock paused for the midday trading break, still up 19% or six sen to 37 sen, valuing the company at about RM843 million. The stock was one of the most active on Bursa Malaysia with nearly 30 million shares exchanging hands. The spike comes on the heels of a report by the Korea Economic Daily that Lotte Chemical Corp of South Korea is planning to dispose of Lotte Chemical Titan as well as a stake in its Indonesian unit. Lotte Chemical Corp owns 75.86% stake in its Malaysian-listed subsidiary, making the sale potentially triggering a mandatory general offer. “The transaction could involve a single buyer, which may potentially trigger a MGO, or multiple buyers, in which case an MGO may not be triggered,” said Kenneth Leong, the head of research at Berjaya Securities. The stock has been also trading at a relatively depressed valuation, he noted. Lotte Chemical Titan is still at a significant discount to its book value of RM2.73 per share based on end-June figures even after Wednesday’s surge. Higher oil prices, and the accompanying increase in petrochemical selling prices, may also have helped Lotte Chemical Titan, said CGS International analyst Raymond Yap. Oil prices have been on the rise after tensions have once again flared between the US and Iran. Brent, the global benchmark for crude oil, was near US$92 (RM374) per barrel. Lotte Chemical Titan has been in the red for more than four consecutive years, and logged a net loss of RM296.9 million for the first six months of 2026. The stock has been on a downward spiral since its debut in 2017, which wiped out more than 90% of its value. The current market capitalisation is also a tiny fraction of the RM15 billion valuation during its listing.