Honam Petrochem to merge with Lotte Daesan in 2009

South Korea’s Honam Petrochemical Corp. said it would merge with Lotte Daesan Petrochemical Corp. on Janunary 1, 2009. The merger with Lotte Daesan, which is wholly owned by Honam Petrochemical, is expected to boost market efficiency, Honam said in a filing with the Korea Exchange. Lotte Daesan’s shareholders will not receive any shares of Honam Petrochemical as Honam does not plan to issue any new shares. With the merger, the two companies will be able to cut costs on freight for raw material purchases, an official from Honam said. (June 27, 2008)