Hanwha Hotels & Resorts Co., hotel and resort operating unit of South Korean conglomerate Hanwha Group which lately has been active in divesting money-losing businesses, has put its landmark resort complex in Saipan up for sale.

According to industry sources on Thursday, Hanwha Hotels & Resorts recently named KPMG Samjong Accounting Corp. as the lead financial advisor for the sale of the Saipan World Resort in Saipan, whose value is estimated at 150 billion won ($110.3 million). The company acquired the resort from World Construct at 30 billion won ($25.4 million) in 2009.

Hanwha Hotels & Resorts operates resorts, hotels and theme parks and offers catering services, and its resort business is the only division that has generated stable profit. Its resort business delivered an operating profit of 39.2 billion won last year.

The company is seeking to sell its lucrative business due to deteriorating financial health. The company saw its cash reserves shrivel 42.3 percent on year at 49.7 billion won as of the end of last year. It raised 45 billion won by issuing bonds for three times on a private placement basis in 2018 to repay debts.

Saipan World Resort, which is currently vacant for renovation work, has various facilities in its 10-story building with 260 rooms including restaurants, bars and a gift shop with pools outside the building. It had steadily raised revenue in the 40 billion won level annually before super typhoon Yutu battered Saipan in October last year.

By Cho Si-young and Lee Ha-yeon

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