Charm Engineering signs a contract to sell its last remaining Vietnamese property

This month, Charm Engineering will sign a contract to sell its last remaining Vietnamese property. The company plans to focus on its core business, display repair equipment, by organizing the extra businesses started by former largest shareholders and executives. This year, first, the company plans to meet last year’s sales target (individual, 140 billion won), while working on internal stability.

According to industry sources on the 8th, Charm Engineering will wrap up a contract for the sale of luxury apartment complexes in the BInh Duong Province, Touyumot city of Vietnam. The estimated sale price is 7 billion won. Charm Engineering started selling its Vietnamese real estate business subsidiaries at the end of last year. The company has completed the sale of four Vietnam subsidiaries and will conclude the sale of the remaining one this month. 

The total sales amount of the five real estate subsidiaries in Vietnam is slightly over 50 billion won. It collected about 10 billion won last year. A Charm Engineering official said, "We will progressively recapture the remaining funds by the end of the year. The proceeds will be used in the display equipment business, including operating capital."

Charm Engineering has the No. 1 market share in the display repair equipment market. It has been reported that the company has a market share of over 70% in laser/CVD repair equipment and cell/module repair equipment. Laser/CVD repair equipment is used to repair thin film transistor (TFT) defects in displays. It clears defective holes due to improper drilling or clogging using a concentrated laser, and it fills in punctures or small holes which chemical vapor deposition (CVD) was unable to. It also clears out parts clogged with foreign material using a laser and fills them with CVD.

Charm Engineering supplies equipment to both LG Display and Samsung Display. The company also supplied repair equipment to China's BOE and CSOT's 10.5G LCD production line. In the field of normal repair, the company is competing with Israel-based Orbotech, which was acquired by KLA Denko in the US this February.

Currently, the largest shareholder, Chairman Kim In-Han of Yoosung Construction Inc., became the largest shareholder of Charm Engineering in 2015. Chairman Kim, who became Charm Engineering CEO in December 2017, handed over his position to his son, Kim Kyu-Dong (41), the current CEO.

In July last year, the South District Court of Seoul sentenced six people, including Han In-Soo ex-CEO, who was the former largest shareholder and executive. They faced the trial on suspicion of embezzlement and breach of trust (Act on the Additional Punishment of Certain Economic Crimes). The appeal is ongoing. A Charm Engineering official said, "The fines imposed on the company in relation to this matter were finalized in the first trial without appeal."