(Yicai Global) Sept. 12 -- South Korean business conglomerate Lotte Co. responded yesterday to reports that it was mulling divesting its supermarket business in China, saying that it was considering restructuring all of its assets, but "selling Lotte Mart's Chinese business" was not on the reorganization agenda.

Apart from Lotte Mart, the company has more than 20 subsidiaries including Lotte Shopping Co. and Lotte World operating on the Chinese market. Given the market's size and growth potential, Lotte will never exit China, the Global Times reported, citing a source at the enterprise.

If political tensions between China and South Korea continue next year, Lotte will consider selling its supermarkets in China, Reuters quoted an anonymous source at the company as saying yesterday. Korean press published similar reports based on information obtained from various sources, alleging that the firm wants to stop losses in the face of the anti-South Korean sentiment triggered by Seoul's decision to deploy an American missile defense system, Terminal High Altitude Area Defense THAAD.

Lotte had 99 Lotte Mart stores in China. Some 87 of them have closed due to fire safety violations. The supermarket chain has taken the brunt of a nationwide boycott against it.

Lotte pumped KRW360 billion (USD319 million) and KRW340 billion into Lotte Mart's Chinese operations in March and August, respectively. The group expects the infusions will keep the business afloat until the year's end. Lotte Mart has lost about KRW500 billion in China since the country's government rolled out anti-THAAD measures in March. That figure is set to grow to KRW1 trillion by the end of this year.