Kamco News

South Korean shipping unit will purchase Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM) vessels for USD 515 million and lease them back to the container carrier at favorable charter rates as part of a state aid program. Korea Shipping Co., a new entity servicing troubled shippers will act as a shipping bank to buy vessels from shippers to lease them back to help them out of financial troubles, was launched on Tuesday on initial paid-in capital of 1 trillion won. HMM will become the first beneficiary of the Korean government rescue schemes for shipping through the Korea Shipping Co. HMM also under state bank management is being groomed to take the place of Hanjin Shipping. “We are coordinating the funding plan upon specific support request from HMM.

South Korea's government and central bank will create an 11 trillion won ($9.50 billion) fund to support two state-run banks most exposed to the country's struggling shipping and shipbuilding firms. "Our key industries like shipping and shipbuilding are being aggressively caught up by countries like China and management conditions have worsened due to weak global trade," Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho said in a speech announcing the corporate restructuring plans on Wednesday. South…

Acquiring ships from financially troubled shipping companies will remain one of the mainstay jobs handled by South Korean finance house Korea Asset Management Corporation (KAMCO) next year, reports Korea Times. The company has bought 33.3 billion won worth of assets from two SMEs in the January-October period and plans to acquire assets valued at 40 billion won from two to three SMEs by December, a move to give relief to financially troubled companies, KAMCO Chairman Hong said in a press conference on Dec. After consulting with the Financial Services Commission (FSC), KAMCO has earmarked 100 billion won in its budget this year for acquisition of properties or other assets held by debt-laden SMEs in order to help them stay afloat, the state company said.

POSCO and three other South Korean companies submitted their formal bids Tuesday for Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., the world's third-largest shipyard, a state-run bank said. Korea Development Bank (KDB) and state-run Korea Asset Management Corp. (KAMCO) are seeking to sell a combined 50.4 percent stake in the shipyard, which they bailed out in 2000 after its parent Daewoo Group collapsed under a mountain of debt. KDB said it will pick a preferred bidder in October after allowing POSCO, Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., GS Group and Hanwha Group to conduct a due diligence on Daewoo Shipbuilding for three weeks starting next week.

Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, one of 's "big three" takeover targets, has been put up for sale. The other two prime takeover targets are Hyundai Engineering & Construction and Hynix Semiconductor, Chosun reported. The Korea Development Bank said it has begun searching for a manager to sell Daewoo Shipbuilding with an aim to select a preferred bidder by August. After Daewoo Group was dismantled in 1999, the shipbuilding business was managed by creditors. The business graduated from its debt workout program in 2001 and has since been managed by the KDB and the Korea Asset Management Corp., which hold a combined stake 50.4 percent. KDB holds 31.3 percent and KAMCO 19.1 percent.

South Korea's Dongkuk Steel seeks a consortium with other steel makers to buy Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering, which has a market value of $9.4 billion. State-run Korea Development Bank and restructuring agency Kamco jointly own half the shipbuilder, a former unit of the bankrupt Daewoo Group. They are expected to put up their stake for sale this year. South Korean steel makers, including POSCO (005490.KS: Quote, Profile, Research), the world's fourth-largest steel maker, have said that they are interested in buying the shipbuilder but the high premium for the company could be a problem.

Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering is expected to go up for sale in the second half of this year, once the firm swings to a solid operating profit in the first half, its main creditor said on Thursday. The long-awaited sale has been widely expected to be one of the country's top acquisition deals in 2007, after the state-run Korea Development Bank (KDB) sold LG Card Co. Ltd. to Shinhan Financial Group for $7.2 billion last year. KDB and state restructuring agency KAMCO jointly own half of the world's No. 2 shipbuilder, valued at 2.5 trillion won ($2.67 billion) at the current market price, after its parent, Daewoo Group, went bankrupt under a mountain of debt in 1999. As for Hynix Semiconductor Inc.

Reuters reported that Korea Development Bank (KDB), a top shareholder in Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering Co. Ltd. , will announce in early 2007 a plan to sell the world's No. 2 shipbuilder, the bank's governor said on Monday. State-run KDB and government restructuring agency KAMCO jointly own half of the shipbuilder, one of former units of the bankrupt Daewoo Group, with a market value of $5.7b. The sale is expected to be one of the biggest M&A deals in South Korea, with KDB Governor Kim Chang-lok predicting it would fetch about $6.2 -$7.3b. KDB has outsourced the assessment of the best ownership structure at Daewoo Shipbuilding and the proper time of the sale, and expects to have the outcome in November. Earlier this month, steel maker POSCO Co. Ltd.

South Korea's Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering Co. shares rose as much as 6.7 percent on August 3 after a local newspaper said steel maker POSCO Co. Ltd. was interested in buying the shipbuilder. South Korea aims to sell a controlling stake in Daewoo, the world's second-biggest shipbuilder, in the second half of 2006. State-run Korea Development Bank and government restructuring agency KAMCO own a combined 50.6 percent stake, valued at more than $3b according to current market prices. POSCO, which is slated to become the world's number four steel maker once Mittal Steel's takeover of Arcelor is completed, has been facing falling margins due to weak steel prices in a market awash with Chinese supplies, Reuters reported. Daewoo had a $7.93m net profit on sales of $4.8b in 2005.

South Korea intends to sell a controlling stake in Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering, currently valued at 2.5 billion, in the second half of 2006, according to a Reuters report. State-run Korea Development Bank (KDB) and government restructuring agency KAMCO own a combined 50.6 percent stake in the world's second-biggest shipbuilder. KDB, which is managing the sale on behalf of other creditors, has recently named JP Morgan as a lead manager for the deal.

According to Reuters, South Korea aims to sell a controlling stake in Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering, currently valued at 2.5 trillion won ($2.5 billion), in the second half of 2006, a lead creditor said on Wednesday. State-run Korea Development Bank (KDB) and government restructuring agency KAMCO own a combined 50.6 percent stake in the world's second-biggest shipbuilder. The market has been awaiting news of the sale process, along with developments on upcoming deals to sell controlling stakes in Korea Exchange Bank and LG Card Co. Ltd. KDB was also in the process of selecting a legal adviser and an accounting firm to begin the sale process of top local credit card issuer LG Card, Kim said.