An illustration of Hyundai Glovis' Global Distribution Center, which is under construction at Incheon International Airport / Courtesy of Hyundai Glovis

Hyundai Glovis looks set to invest in a consortium led by Air Incheon, which has been selected as the preferred bidder to acquire Asiana Airlines' cargo business, according to industry officials, Sunday.

Its move is interpreted as part of efforts to foster the air cargo business as a new growth engine.

"We are considering joining Air Incheon's acquisition of Asiana's cargo business as an investor," Hyundai Glovis said in a regulatory filing Friday.

Although Hyundai Motor Group's logistics unit added that nothing has been decided yet, the company is reportedly planning to invest around 100 billion won ($74 million) in a private equity fund holding an 80.3 percent stake in Air Incheon.

Hyundai Glovis is said to have once considered the direct acquisition of Asiana's cargo business when it was put up for sale as part of Korean Air's attempts to win the European Union's conditional approval for the takeover of a smaller competitor.

However, only air carriers were allowed to participate in the bid, so Hyundai Glovis appears to have changed its plan.

Given that Hyundai Glovis said in June that it would draw up aggressive growth strategies, there is speculation that the logistics firm may take over Air Incheon, once the budget carrier merges with Asiana's cargo business.

"Depending on strategic needs, we will consider M&As for our growth," Hyundai Glovis CEO Lee Kyoo-bok told investors at that time.

Over the past few years, Hyundai Glovis has tried to reinforce its air cargo business.

Following a memorandum of understanding with Incheon International Airport Corp. in 2022, it started building the Global Distribution Center in 2023 at the airport's second logistics complex, with the aim of finishing the construction by 2025.

In addition, Hyundai Glovis has engaged in the air freight forwarding business at airports in Germany's Frankfurt, Austria's Vienna, the United States' Atlanta and India's Chennai. The company also won the certification to transport lithium batteries by air from the International Air Transport Association.

"We will enhance customer satisfaction by providing high-quality logistics services on land, sea and air," a Hyundai Glovis official said.