[Edaily Marketin Reporter LEE GEON-EOM ] CJ LOGISTICS(000120)is accelerating its business restructuring by successively liquidating and selling its overseas subsidiaries in Southeast Asia. Analysts suggest that, in the wake of slowing growth in the global logistics market, the company has shifted its focus from expansion to strengthening its core operations. As CJ LOGISTICS concentrates its resources on high-profit businesses at key logistics hubs, attention is focused on whether the restructuring of its Southeast Asian operations will yield positive results.

According to the Financial Supervisory Service’s electronic disclosure system on the 7th, CJ LOGISTICS has initiated liquidation procedures for three local subsidiaries: CJ Century DMS Co.,Ltd. (CJ CENTURY DMS SDN. BHD.) in Malaysia, Storewell (STOREWELL (M) SDN. BHD.) and CJ Corp. PH Warehousing Corp. in the Philippines.

In 2015, CJ LOGISTICS established CJ LOGISTICS RT Myanmar Co., Ltd., a joint venture in which it held a 70% stake, with Myanmar’s state-owned logistics company, the Road Transport Department (RT). Located in the Insein area, adjacent to Yangon Port, the airport, and the highway, the site was considered a key logistics hub.

Following the military coup in 2021, the political situation changed rapidly, leading to a protracted civil war and a refugee population reaching 3.5 million. Amid this deteriorating business environment, CJ LOGISTICS finalized the sale during the first quarter and removed the subsidiary from its consolidated financial statements. The disposal gain from the sale of the Myanmar subsidiary amounts to approximately 9.8 billion won.

CJ LOGISTICS’ decision to streamline its overseas subsidiaries is largely driven by the significantly low profitability of its global division relative to its scale. This is because continuing to maintain subsidiaries that were hastily acquired during a past expansion phase or that have reached their limits could undermine the company’s financial soundness.

In fact, CJ LOGISTICS’s first-quarter revenue from its global division (based on external customers) totaled 1.1694 trillion won, accounting for 36.4% of total revenue. In contrast, operating profit for the same period amounted to only 17.7 billion won, resulting in an operating profit margin of just 1.5%.

Analysts suggest that the trend of divesting subsidiaries hampered by geopolitical risks—as seen in the case of Myanmar—is also linked to the slowing growth of the global logistics market. According to Samsung SDS’s 2026 Logistics Market Outlook report, the global economy is expected to enter a phase of gradual slowdown this year as the impact of tariffs takes full effect, with major institutions revising their growth forecasts to around 3%.

As CJ LOGISTICS shifts its overseas business strategy toward “selective focus,” expectations for its financial performance are also expected to rise. CJ Logistics Asia (CJ LOGISTICS ASIA PTE. LTD.) has already succeeded in returning to profitability, posting a net profit of 1 billion won in the first quarter of this year. This marks a clear turnaround compared to the net loss of 35.15 million won recorded in the first quarter of last year. During the same period, total assets also increased by 12.5%, rising from 454.8 billion won to 511.8 billion won.

The improved performance of the Malaysian subsidiary, which was excluded from the liquidation plan, is also noteworthy. CJ Century Logistics (CJ CENTURY LOGISTICS SDN. BHD.) is a Malaysian integrated logistics company acquired by CJ LOGISTICS in 2016 for 47.1 billion won. As a key local logistics hub covering not only land and sea transportation but also warehousing, forwarding, and cold chain services, it played a significant role in the company’s strategy to expand its business in Southeast Asia.

Although the company posted a net loss of 1.2 billion won in the first quarter of last year, it returned to profitability in the first quarter of this year, recording a net profit of 88.36 million won. The effects of the restructuring—which involved decisively divesting non-core subsidiaries while improving the operational efficiency of retained core subsidiaries—are gradually becoming apparent.