Lotte Chemical, a major South Korean chemical company, is said to have submitted an initial bid to buy Hitachi Chemical Co., the chemical unit of Japan's Hitachi.

An official at Lotte Chemical said the company reviewed the feasibility of the bid but declined to confirm whether it submitted the bid for Hitachi Chemical.

Hitachi has planned to sell the chemical unit since early this year, and the initial bids for Hitachi Chemical closed on Aug. 9.

Meanwhile, Lotte Chemical has said it will merge with its wholly owned subsidiary as part of efforts to streamline its chemical business.

Lotte Chemical said its merger with Lotte Advanced Materials Co. will be completed by Jan. 2, 2020.

(Yonhap)