UAE's Largest Natural Gas Facility Suspended After Attack-Triggered Fire 
Luxury Car Sales in the Middle East Take a Hit Amid Iran War 
Cathay Pacific Holds Firm on Flight Capacity Amid Middle East Conflict and Rising Fuel Costs 
Trump Threatens Escalation Against Iran, Warns of Infrastructure Strikes 
March 2025 Jobs Report: Strong Headline Numbers Hide Deeper Economic Concerns 
Fonterra Admits Anchor Butter "Grass-Fed" Label Misled Consumers After Greenpeace Lawsuit 
Ukrainian Drones and the #MadeByHousewives Movement: Kyiv Fires Back at Rheinmetall CEO 
Japan's Services Sector Growth Slows in March Amid Rising Middle East Tensions 
Iran's Stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz: What It Means for Global Markets 
Microsoft Eyes $7B Texas Energy Deal to Power AI Data Centers 
China's Energy Resilience Shields Economy From Global Oil Shock, Goldman Sachs Says 
Nike Beats Q3 Estimates but China Weakness and Margin Pressure Weigh on Outlook 
U.S. Job Market Braces for Slow Recovery Amid Middle East Tensions and Economic Uncertainty 
Australia's Trade Surplus Surges in February on Gold Export Boom 
Apple Turns 50: From Garage Startup to AI Crossroads 
Annie Altman Amends Sexual Abuse Lawsuit Against OpenAI CEO Sam Altman 
CTOC Adds 3,000 Doctors, 500 Hospitals Ahead of Liquidity Push 
SK Inc. got rid of its stake in Socar car-sharing platform. The holding and IT services company based in Seoul sold all of its shares to Lotte Rental for KRW146 billion, which is about $110.5 million in US dollars.
SK Inc., the investment unit of SK Group, confirmed the sale of its stake to Lotte Rental on Thursday, Aug. 31. The portion of the unloaded share is equivalent to 17.9%, and the company made this move to raise a profit of about KRW40 billion.
According to Korea Joongang Daily, once the acquisition is completed, Lotte Rental will become the second largest shareholder of Socar, with its shares going up to 32.9%. With the deal, SK Inc. is looking to gain a 148% rate of return since it purchased its Socar stake in 2015 for only KRW59 billion.
"Through the selloff, SK Inc., we plan to accelerate the virtuous cycle of investment in securing new growth engines based on the successful sale of existing portfolios to secure investment funds," Seoul Economic Daily quoted Yoo Gyeong Sang, the head of SK Holdings' Digital Investment Center, as saying in a statement.
As mentioned, SK Holdings is planning to invest more in business that can be the company’s new growth drivers, especially in the mobility sector which can include electrification and autonomous driving. The holdings group will use the proceeds from the sale of Socar and Turo shares to expand its mobility unit in Southeast Asia, with Soka Malaysia as the center, as this is where SK has management rights.
In any case, Turo is a U.S.-based peer-to-peer vehicle-sharing platform that SK Inc. sold for KRW88.1 billion in March this year. The company earned a 121% return from the sale because it was bought for only KRW39.6 billion in 2017.
Photo by: SK Inc. Media Center
