Gold Prices Steady as Markets Await Key U.S. Data and Expected Fed Rate Cut 
IKEA Launches First New Zealand Store, Marking Expansion Into Its 64th Global Market 
Dollar Slides to Five-Week Low as Asian Stocks Struggle and Markets Bet on Fed Rate Cut 
Netflix Nearing Major Deal to Acquire Warner Bros Discovery Assets 
Momenta Quietly Moves Toward Hong Kong IPO Amid Rising China-U.S. Tensions 
Michael Dell Pledges $6.25 Billion to Boost Children’s Investment Accounts Under Trump Initiative 
UPS MD-11 Crash Prompts Families to Prepare Wrongful Death Lawsuit 
China Urged to Prioritize Economy Over Territorial Ambitions, Says Taiwan’s President Lai 
Anthropic Reportedly Taps Wilson Sonsini as It Prepares for a Potential 2026 IPO 
Asian Currencies Steady as Rupee Hits Record Low Amid Fed Rate Cut Bets 
Asian Currencies Steady as Markets Await Fed Rate Decision; Indian Rupee Hits New Record Low 
Asian Markets Mixed as Fed Rate Cut Bets Grow and Japan’s Nikkei Leads Gains 
ExxonMobil to Shut Older Singapore Steam Cracker Amid Global Petrochemical Downturn 
Hikvision Challenges FCC Rule Tightening Restrictions on Chinese Telecom Equipment 
RBI Cuts Repo Rate to 5.25% as Inflation Cools and Growth Outlook Strengthens 
Asia’s IPO Market Set for Strong Growth as China and India Drive Investor Diversification 
Australia’s Economic Growth Slows in Q3 Despite Strong Investment Activity 
Lotte Group is set to acquire a bioindustry CMO plant located in the United States. The move has been announced on Thursday, May 5, and this also signals the company’s entrance into the bio business.
Currently, the acquisition process for the contract manufacturing organization (CMO) facility is still ongoing. Investment banking industry insiders said that Lotte Group has taken this step to buy the CMO plant after it stated that the bioindustry will be its new growth engine.
According to The Korea Times, CMOs are firms that specialize in the production of biopharmaceuticals that were developed by other companies. Lotte Group’s new CMO business will be headed by Lee Won Jik, a former executive at Samsung Biologics that the company recently hired. He has been tasked to develop and grow this business unit that the Lotte Group set up.
Lee will also be leading the acquisition efforts of the CMO as per the report. It was only last month when the South Korean multinational conglomerate declared during its general shareholders' meeting that its next growth engine for the future will be the bioindustry. Lotte Holdings will be investing directly in this business and will provide support to help it grow and succeed.
Meanwhile, as part of its entrance into the CMO business, Lotte Group applied for a trademark for its new biz. The company registered “Lotte Biologics” with the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) to officially launch its bio venture.
It was added that under the new Lotte Biologics banner, Lotte will also be participating in the largest bioindustry expo in the world called the Bio International Convention (Bio USA) which is set to take place next month in San Diego, California.
KIPO revealed that Lotte Holdings applied for the patent last week and aside from the name, it also trademarked some business areas such as customized manufacturing of biopharmaceuticals and drug processing and medical diagnostic devices for virus testing, The Korea Herald reported.
“Registering the trademark of Lotte Biologics was a part of preparations for the group’s bio business,” an official of Lotte Holdings stated. “We are reviewing various ways to enter the bio industry, but nothing has been confirmed at the moment.”
