[KH Explains] Why is Boryung assailed by investors over space vision?

Boryung's risky bet puts over 10% of total equity into still-nascent space business

Jay Kim, CEO of Boryung

Amid global pharmaceutical companies' efforts to foray into the space health care industry, major South Korean health care company Boryung has likewise released an adventurous vision to establish its footing in the nascent sector. However, the company's business acumen is being questioned by stockholders, as experts say the hefty investment in the space business may still be risky.

Since being anointed with the title of CEO for Boryung in January, Jay Kim, grandson of Boryung founder Kim Seung-ho, has spared no expense in expanding space-related projects for the drug-making company.

NASA's space shuttle Endeavour exhibited during Boryung's CIS Challenge Demo Day held in Samuel Oschin Pavilion, Los Angeles on Dec. 9 (Boryung)

In April, Boryung launched a global challenge in collaboration with US commercial space station developer Axiom Space and advisory firm Starburst to provide commercialization support for technologies to help optimize human health for space travel.

The efforts were followed by the company's decision to invest a whopping $50 million in Axiom Space, accounting for 13.7 percent of the company's total equity and 7.8 percent of its total assets, according to Hanwha Investment & Securities.

The company's rather unforeseen sally into the new business field, on top of its mammoth investment, has been brewing sentiments of concern for its stockholders.

Boryung's shares closed at 9,060 won ($7.15) on Thursday, and its share price has been gradually dipping all year. Thursday's shares marked the lowest point in the year and a 37.95 percent drop from Dec. 30, 2021, when Boryung shares were 14,600 won each.

The company's latest investment in the US startup was cited as one of the reasons for the dull market sentiment.

"Investment of 13.7 percent of a company's total equity is considered large," an analyst at Hanwha Investment & Securities told The Korea Herald on the condition of anonymity.

"It can indeed cause financial volatility if subsequent investments are made," he added.

Hanwha Investment & Securities recently declared a halt to the corporate analysis of Boryung.

Experts did not specifically provide an answer as to why the firm has given up analyzing Boryung, but it is generally understood that security firms stop analyzing a company when the growth potential for stocks of the company becomes too murky to predict, and uncertainties surrounding the companies grow.

Another analyst pointed to the high costs and risks involved in developing new drugs in space as reasons for lukewarm responses to the company's latest vision.

"A big reason for a pharma company to venture into space would be to develop new drugs in a zero-gravity environment," another anonymous researcher at a local securities firm said. The zero-gravity environment facilitates the production of homogeneous drugs by preventing ingredients from sinking to the bottom.

“At the same time, it is a pricey and time-consuming process that is extremely difficult to succeed,” he said.

"Without proper research facilities in space, the business can be unrealistic."

Lee Jae-min, a professor at Seoul National University School of Law, admitted that government support is crucial in assisting the private sector’s foray into the still-nascent space business, saying there should be a legal basis to do so.

Despite investor jitters, experts agree on the high potential of the space business. According to the Korea Aerospace Research Institute, it is a $447 billion market, with an annual growth rate of 8 percent. In Korea, the market size was estimated to be around 3.9 trillion won as of 2019.

By Lee Yoon-seo(yoonseo.3348@heraldcorp.com)