Posco Holdings opens 'K-Maru' hub at Beijing Posco Center, bringing together 22 public institutions

Posco Holdings said Monday it has officially opened "Beijing K-Maru," the first overseas public platform built through public-private cooperation, combining the company's infrastructure with the capabilities of government agencies.

The opening ceremony at the Beijing Posco Center was attended by Ambassador to China Noh Jae-heon, Ministry of Economy and Finance Public Policy Bureau Director Lee Sang-yun, Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency China Regional Headquarters Director Jang Sang-hae — the lead agency for Beijing K-Maru — Posco China Representative Director Lee Won-cheol, and representatives of the 22 resident institutions. Attendees celebrated the platform's launch and discussed building a framework for inter-agency cooperation.

The K-Maru brand combines "K," a symbol of South Korea, with "maru," a native Korean word for the floor space of a hanok (traditional Korean house). The platform consolidates overseas offices of public institutions that had been scattered across various locations into a single hub, offering one-stop public services to Korean companies operating locally and to Korean residents abroad.

Posco Holdings said it strongly supports the government's policy of consolidating overseas bases for public institutions and improving operational efficiency. The company created the first public-private K-Maru dedicated space at the Beijing Posco Center, incorporating the concept of a hanok maru alongside a modern business aesthetic in the interior design.

The Wangjing district, where the Beijing Posco Center is located, is an international central business district home to leading global companies as well as Korean exporters and residents, making it a well-positioned site for delivering public support services.

Once all 22 public institutions covering trade and investment, finance, energy, environment, and digital technology complete their move-in, Beijing K-Maru will become the largest integrated K-Maru hub in the world.

Korean companies operating in China will be able to access public support services in marketing, finance, technology and infrastructure all in one place through Beijing K-Maru, while the resident institutions can cut administrative costs and strengthen collaboration with one another.

"Building on the successful launch of Beijing K-Maru, we will provide a stable working environment and top-tier infrastructure so that the Beijing Posco Center can serve as a base supporting Korean companies' overseas projects and the Korean resident community, while enhancing trust in the Posco brand," a Posco Holdings official said.

Meanwhile, Posco Holdings posted consolidated sales of 19.14 trillion won ($14.3 billion) and operating profit of 945 billion won in the third quarter of this year, up 10.9 percent and 47.9 percent, respectively, from the same period a year earlier.

The company said the results reflect its "Triple Core" strategy — in which its core businesses of steel, secondary battery materials and LNG complement one another's profitability — allowing it to extend its streak of earnings improvement for three consecutive quarters despite a more volatile business environment marked by rising oil prices and a sharp rise in US government bond yields.