Lotte Shopping, the retail arm of South Korea’s Lotte Group, has secured a significant financing deal with Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), marking a major step in its strategy to diversify global funding sources. The move underscores Lotte’s ambition to strengthen its presence in North America through proactive investment.
The signing ceremony took place in Seoul on November 4, with backing from Export Development Canada (EDC), a government-owned export credit agency. The deal follows Lotte’s earlier partnership with EDC in September, which established a strategic financing line worth up to $500 million. The agreement with SMBC represents the first executionunder that framework.
While the exact size of the latest funding package was not disclosed, it is understood to fall within the $500 million limit.
Lotte Group Vice Chairman and Lotte Shopping CEO Sang-Hyun Kim has consistently emphasized the importance of leveraging international financial networks and diversifying funding sources to drive the group’s growth. By bringing SMBC—one of Japan’s largest commercial banks—on board as a key financial partner, Lotte has secured a more stable funding channel to support its overseas operations.
Lotte plans to use the new capital to expand private-label (PB) product exports and strengthen supply chain partnerships across North America and Japan through its Lotte Mart business. The company also aims to help Canadian firms enter the Korean market by utilizing Lotte’s extensive domestic retail network.
“This marks an important milestone as it is our first executed transaction involving both EDC and SMBC,” said Won-Jae Kim, Executive Director and Head of Financial Support at Lotte Shopping. “We plan to establish a triangular financial cooperation model connecting Korea, Japan, and Canada.”
Yoshiro Kato, General Manager of SMBC’s Global Korea Division, added, “We are fully committed to supporting Lotte Shopping’s overseas expansion strategy and contributing to stronger economic ties among Korea, Japan, and Canada.”
The partnership reflects Lotte’s evolving approach to international financing—expanding beyond domestic funding to build a global capital network capable of sustaining long-term growth in key overseas markets.
