(Yicai Global) Feb. 12 -- South Korean conglomerate LG is selling its landmark LG Twin Towers in Beijing to a Singaporean sovereign wealth fund for CNY8.5 billion (USD1.2 billion) to raise liquidity, online news outlet The Paper reported yesterday.

The move will allow the Seoul-based company to fund its future growth engines and to better withstand global economic uncertainties, it said. Reco Changan Private, a subsidiary of Government of Singapore Investment Corporation, will be the new owner.

LG Holdings Hong Kong spent USD400 million in 2005 to build the two 31-storey towers in Beijing's Guomao Central Business District which serve as the group's China headquarters. With four underground floors and a central retail podium, the office blocks have a total gross floor area of about 150,000 square meters.

The sale has been in the pipeline since the second half of last year, LG said. The stakes of three of its units, namely LG Electronics, LG Chem and LG International, in LG Holdings HK will be sold. The contract should be signed this month and the deal is expected to be completed by the end of April.

LG businesses occupy about 20 percent of the towers. The rest of the office space is rented out to big international firms including accounting and consulting company PricewaterhouseCoopers, energy provider Equinor, sports goods retailer Nike, courier UPS and joint venture insurer Generali China Life Insurance.

LG's operating profit fell 9.9 percent to USD2 billion last year from 2018 due to increased investments in marketing and future technologies, according to the firm's latest earnings report. LG Mobile Communications has lost money for 19 consecutive quarters and posted a USD845 million annual loss on sluggish smartphone sales.

Editor: Kim Taylor