Kospi News

Global industrial production and containerised freight flows remained in the doldrums at the start of the third quarter, confounding predictions earlier in the year for a strong rebound.Manufacturers and distributors in North America and Europe were struggling to reduce excess inventories after the post-pandemic rotation from goods to services spending.Rising interest rates and a cost-of-living squeeze have also dampened expenditure on expensive long-lived durable items.Global industrial output was up by less than 1% in the second quarter of 2023 from the same period in 2022…

South Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries has raised $935 million after pricing its IPO at the top of its indicative range, with much of the proceeds set to fund investments in new technology.It offered 18 million new shares or 20% of shares outstanding in a range of 52,000-60,000 won per share.It is expected to list on the KOSPI on Sept. 16.Hyundai Heavy plans to use about 760 billion won ($660 million) of the proceeds to invest in future technologies, including eco-friendly ships and digital ship technology…

Shares in South Korean shipbuilders rallied more than 20% on Tuesday following $19 billion worth of deals to build vessels for Qatar Petroleum (QP).QP said on Monday it has signed agreements with South Korea's "Big 3" shipyards to secure more than 100 ships costing over 70 billion Qatari riyals ($18.65 billion), describing the deals as "the largest LNG shipbuilding in history."The agreements signed with Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co Ltd, Hyundai Heavy Industries…

South Korea's shipbuilders jump after an industry report notes rising prices of liquefied natural gas tankers that is set to benefit the country's shipbuilders.Shares of Hyundai Heavy Industries soar 9.2 pct, while those of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering jump 9.7 pct.Samsung Heavy Industries adds 5.7 pct, after it secured a contract worth 412 billion won ($368 million) to build two LNG carriers for a ship owner in North America.The stock price gains reflect the report issued by Clarkson, a UK shipbuilding industry analysis organisation, which raised the price of an LNG tanker to $181

Hanjin Shipping, once the country's top shipping line,  will be delisted from the domestic bourse today (March 7), ending its eight-year trading history, Yonhap News Agency said citing industry sources. According to the Korea Exchange (KRX) the company will be delisted from the main KOSPI market after seven sessions of sell-off trading. It was listed on the bourse Dec. 29, 2009, at 21,300 won ($18.41). It reached a record high of KRW 38,694 per share in January 2011. Hanjin Shipping was put under court receivership in September last year, as its creditors, led by the KDB, rejected its self-rescue plan. After being declared bankrupt on Feb. 9, the country's bourse operator, the Korea Exchange, has allowed investors to unload Hanjin Shipping stocks.

South Korea’s Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME),  faced with risks of being delisted from the stock market due to capital erosion, is seeking measures for survival, says a report in Korea Times. DSME has fallen into the state of complete capital impairment after taking a net loss of more than 1 trillion won in the second quarter. If this state continues until the year's end, the company's stock would be delisted from the market. The company may be kicked out of the main bourse KOSPI if it fails to escape full-scale capital erosion. The shipbuilder, which recorded a 423.6 billion won operating loss and 1.2 trillion won net loss in the second quarter…

South Korea's Hyundai Heavy Industries Co Ltd, the world's biggest shipbuilder, slid to a record quarterly loss of $1.8 billion and warned it's heading for its worst-ever year as cost overruns mount up in new business lines it developed to counter a global glut of low-margin ship orders. Hyundai Heavy said on Thursday it slumped to an operating loss of 1.93 trillion won ($1.83 billion) in the third quarter, from a 222.4 billion won profit a year earlier, as it soaked up rising costs caused by delays in building new types of ship in which it had little previous expertise.

Seoul shares fell in early domestic trade Wednesday, touching a near-three week low as persisting worries about China's economic growth outlook cut appetites for riskier assets. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) was down 1.2 percent at 1,939.86 points as of 0215 GMT. The index earlier traded as low as 1,938.60, its weakest level since Feb. 20. A sharper-than-expected slowdown in China would likely hurt earnings of major local manufacturers, as the world's second-largest economy is South Korea's biggest exports market. "Investors have yet to shake their concerns about corporate debt default and shadow banking" in China, said E-Trade Investment analyst Choi Kwang-hyeok.

According to a Sept 15 report from Reuters, Seoul shares edged up on Wednesday helped by firm gains in shipbuilders such as Hyundai Heavy Industries Co Ltd (009540.KS), but falls in retailers and banks such as Shinhan Financial Group Co Ltd (055550.KS) weighed. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index .KS11 (KOSPI) ended up 0.48 percent at 1,823.88 points. Kim Seong-bong, a market analyst at Samsung Securities told Reuters that the company is seeing a lot of equity redemption by fundholders at the index's current level, and this will pressure the market for some time. (Source: Reuters)

According to an August 9 report from Reuters, Seoul shares rose as investor hopes for further stimulus measures from the U.S. Federal Reserve strengthened ahead of its meeting, with gains in shipyards and banking stocks lifting the index. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index .KS11 (KOSPI) ended up 0.36 percent at 1,790.17 points.. (Source: Reuters)

According to a Reuters report, Seoul shares fell 3.5 percent on July 13, their biggest daily percentage loss in more than four months, amid renewed U.S. financial and earnings worries, while North Korea-related news added pressure. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) finished down 3.53 percent at 1,378.12 points, its biggest daily percentage decline since a 4.16 pct fall on March 2. (Source: Reuters)

Hyundai Heavy Industries was down 4,500 won or 1.2 percent at 380,000 won, Samsung Heavy Industries was off 600 won or 1.9 percent to 30,400 won and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering fell 300 won or 0.8 percent to 39,300 won. Hyundai Motor was down 1,300 won or 1.9 percent at 67,600 won and Kia Motors down 50 won or 0.5 percent at 10,400 won. The mainboard KOSPI was down 0.5 percent. Fears are mounting that key steel makers could jack up product prices to reflect higher cost of raw materials, including iron ore and coal. POSCO and Nippon Steel said Monday that they have agreed to a 65 percent increase in iron ore contract prices with Brazil's Companhia Vale do Rio Doce, which will set a global benchmark.

Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., led a decline in South Korean shipyard stocks in Seoul trading on concern prices for new vessels may drop. Hyundai Heavy fell 5.8 percent, the biggest decline in more than a week, to close at 319,500 won in Seoul. Hyundai Mipo Dockyard Co., a unit of Hyundai Heavy, fell 7.1 percent to 201,500 won. The shares also dropped after UBS AG said orders may slow this year from the record sales in 2007. The price for second-hand bulk carriers was as much as 61 percent more than for new vessels last year because of increased demand for iron ore and coal from China and India. Shipyards in South Korea, the world's biggest shipbuilding nation, increased their order backlog last year, even with ship prices at records.

Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., whose stock more than quadrupled this year, rose to a record in Seoul trading after analysts raised their share-price targets by as much as 41 percent on an optimistic earnings outlook, according to a Bloomberg report. The world's biggest shipbuilder gained 4.1 percent to $581.49, the highest since they started trading in August 1999. The stock is the best performer of the 50 biggest companies in South Korea's Kospi index this year. Yards in South Korea, the world's largest shipbuilding country, are reporting record earnings this year on demand for vessels to transport raw materials to China and finished goods to the U.S. and Europe. Shipbuilding accounts for about half of Hyundai Heavy's sales. The company also makes marine engines and develops electronics.

STX Shipbuilding Co., the first South Korean yard in China, had its biggest two-day gain in more than a week in Seoul on optimism the purchase of a stake in Norway's Aker Yards ASA will add cruise liners to its range of vessels. STX Shipbuilding has more than quadrupled this year, making it the fourth-best performer in South Korea's Kospi 200 index. The stake purchase in Aker Yards will allow STX Shipbuilding to use the Norwegian company's expertise in cruise liners, which are usually more profitable to build than STX Shipbuilding's main business of mid-sized oil tankers and commodity carriers. STX Shipbuilding and STX Engine Co. said they paid $800m for a 39.2 percent stake in Aker Yards, becoming the biggest shareholders in the company.

Seoul shares closed 2.3 percent up earlier this week, their biggest daily percentage gain in three weeks, as STX Shipbuilding surged after buying a stake in a Norwegian ship builder, while Apple's strong results boosted tech stocks, according to a Reuters report. STX Shipbuilding Co (067250.KS) surged by the daily limit of 15 percent to $74.17 after it announced the purchase of a 39.2 percent stake in Norway's Aker Yards (AKY.OL) for $800m, a move analysts said underlined its commitment to fast expansion and would bolster networks in Europe. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) (.KS11) gained 2.3 percent to 1,947.98, staging a strong rebound a day after slumping 3.4 percent to its lowest close in more than a month.

South Korean stocks hit a fresh closing high Thursday as investors picked up shipbuilding and machinery shares, taking a cue from overnight gains in U.S. markets, analysts said. The South Korean won fell against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 14.98 points, or 0.94 percent, to 1,615.58. Volume was moderate at 445.7 million shares worth 4.67 trillion won (US$5.03 billion), with winners outpacing losers 544 to 226. Shipbuilders led the gain with top shipyard Hyundai Heavy Industries rising 6.53 percent to 285,500 won. Steel shares gained ground. No. 2 steelmaker Hyundai Steel advanced 2.45 percent to 48,150 won after a local brokerage raised its price estimate for the shares. Tech blue chips traded in negative territory.

According to Bloomberg, Samsung Heavy Industries Co., raised its target for new orders this year 56 percent as growing global trade and higher demand for oil products have prompted shipowners to buy more vessels. Samsung Heavy expects to win $12b of orders this year, an increase from its earlier forecast of $7.7 billion, the shipyard said in an e-mailed statement today. So far, the company won contracts valued at a record $10.1 billion this year. A.P. Moeller-Maersk A/S, Royal Dutch Shell Plc and other companies have increased investment in fuel production and transportation with oil prices at record levels, helping Samsung Heavy and other shipyards in South Korea win more contracts. The South Korean companies have order backlogs that will keep them busy for more than three years.

According to Reuters, Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. reported a net profit in the third quarter because of more profitable orders and one-off gains from an accounting change. Earnings at South Korean shipbuilders, which dominate the global market, are set to improve due to falling steel plate prices and a more stable South Korean won. But analysts are concerned vessel prices could weaken in the coming quarters due to sluggish global trading volumes and as Chinese shipyards boost capacity to deepen competition. Hyundai posted a net profit of 167.2 billion won ($159.8 million) in the third quarter to Sept. 30, compared with a 33.1 billion won net loss a year earlier and following a 35.5 billion won profit in the previous quarter.