[Aju News DB]
SEOUL, Jan. 26 (Aju News) -- South Korea's retail conglomerate, Shinsegae, has forged a deal with two foreign firms to draw an investment of about 940 million US dollars into its integrated e-commerce division aimed at nurturing online shopping malls.
Shinsegae said Friday it has signed a memorandum of understanding with BRV Capital Management, an investment firm, and private equity firm Affinity Equity Partners, a private equity firm, to attract more than one trillion won (939 million US dollars).
The group aims to launch a separate e-commerce unit this year by combining the online business divisions of Shinsegae Department Store and its discount store chain operator, E-Mart. The new unit would become the group's key distribution channel with an annual revenue of 10 trillion won by 2023.
Group vice chairman Chung Yong-jin, the group's de facto head, has promised to nurture online shopping malls independently or by acquiring a domestic e-commerce platform. South Korea's online commerce market has been dominated by Gmarket, a brand of eBay Korea with an annual transaction value of about 14 trillion won.
reporter
Lim Chang-won
cwlim34@ajunews.com
