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South Korea Government News

22 Sep 2022

Digitalization: Palantir Inks $20m Deal with Hyundai Heavy Industries

Copyright Nightman1965/AdobeStock

Palantir Technologies signed a deal valued at $20 million over five years to expand its partnership with South Korea's Hyundai Heavy Industries Group, one of the world's largest shipbuilding conglomerates. The conglomerate's shipbuilding affiliates including Hyundai Heavy will use Palantir's operating system, known as Foundry, to strengthen data-driven decision making, said Palantir's Chief Operating Officer Shyam Sankar.Companies in the export-driven economy, faced with supply chain snarls and volatility for raw material prices…

29 Apr 2021

Seaborne Coal Volumes Slip in Asia, and It's Not Just the Pandemic

© ymgerman / Adobe Stock

One of the quirks of Asia's seaborne coal market is that volumes have held up remarkably well, despite the fuel being demonized for its role in climate change and the rising number of countries and companies spurning it.At least, that was the case for the past several years, but there are now signs that volumes are trending lower in the top consuming region.The amount of coal discharged at Asian ports has now dropped for 12 consecutive months, when comparing each month to the same month a year earlier…

31 Oct 2016

Korea Mulls New Ship Financing Company

Reuters report quoting South Korea government sources that the country is planning  to establish a state-backed ship financing company with an initial capital of 1 trillion won ($871.73 million) to help improve the financial health of Korean shipping companies. The government would provide financing of 6.5 trillion won ($5.67 billion) in total so that local shipping firms could acquire new vessels. New vessel orders won by South Korean shipbuilders between January-September fell by 87 percent compared to the same period in the previous year. The government has announced measures to support struggling local shipbuilding and shipping industries following the collapse of Hanjin Shipping Co Ltd, which applied for court receivership in August.

23 Sep 2016

S.Korea: Hanjin Cash, Parent Support Should Cover Offloading Fees

Cash from top shareholder, executives should cover offload costs. South Korea's government said cash held by Hanjin Shipping Co Ltd and funds pledged by its parent group should meet the costs of unloading some $14 billion in cargo stranded on vessels operated by the troubled container line. The collapse of South Korea's biggest shipping operator late last month has plunged the shipping industry into chaos ahead of the crucial year-end holiday shopping season as dozens of vessels and their crews wait for money needed to pay for port and handling fees. The government said a 60 billion won ($54 million) loan pledged by Korean Air Lines Co…

08 Jun 2016

S.Korea Creates $9.5 Bln Fund for Banks Exposed to Shipyard Troubles

Photo: Robert Kunkel

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…

09 May 2016

No Merger for Ailing Korean Shipmakers

The South Korea government plans to drop its forceful measures to push ailing local shipbuilders to merge with each other as mergers or additional cash outlays to Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI), Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) and Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) are unlikely to boost their bottom line, reports Korea Times. The Korean ship buildes are under heavy pressure on accumulating debt and  zero new building orders in April. The creditors have been urging the ship builders to carry out their respective restructuring plans as well as come up with additional rescue measures as they struggle with mounting losses. The top three shipbuilders were opening up a possibility of significant restructuring measures including that of a merger.

10 Nov 2015

Hanjin-Hyundai: No Merger or Only Restructuring?

South Korea’s government is discussing whether to merge or sell  Hanjin Shipping and Hyundai Merchant Marine in an attempt at state-led industrial restructuring. But the two lines in question belong to different container alliances, are fierce rivals and have both denied that Seoul is trying to coerce them to merge. “There is a need to maintain the existence of the two companies when considering the impact a merger could have on South Korea’s import- and export-oriented economy and global shipping alliances, as well as the transhipment competiveness of Busan port,” the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said in its rebuttal of the argument.

06 Nov 2015

Maersk Profit Halves, Global Trade Forecast Dimmed

Container shipping demand at lowest since 2008 crisis; additional capacity supply far outstrips demand. Shipping and oil conglomerate A.P. Moller-Maersk said on Friday third-quarter profit almost halved and global demand for container transportation this year would grow at a slower pace than previously expected. The Danish company, which operates the largest container shipping business in the world, kept a reduced forecast made two weeks ago for a 2015 underlying profit of $3.4 billion, down from the $4.0 billion previously expected. Maersk has taken a double hit to its businesses -- its oil units have floundered as crude prices halved since last year, while low trade volumes and an overcapacity of vessels have weighed on Maersk Line, the container shipping business.

27 Jun 2013

S. Korean Cargo Volumes Less in May

Cargo processed at the country's seaports shrank by 5.3% from a year earlier in May 2013. The decrease was thought partly due to a drop in outbound shipments to the United States and European countries, report Yonhap, citing the South Korea government. The amount of cargo handled at the country's seaports came to 109.5 million tons in May, down 5.3 percent from the same period last year, according to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. Source: Yonhap News Agency

27 Mar 2012

Wärtsilä Engine Selected for Korean Green Project

Marine Diesel 20DF: Photo credit Wärtsilä

Wärtsilä dual-fuel technology selected for 'green ship' project by South Korea Government. Wärtsilä has been contracted to supply the main engine for a Korean government Incheon Port Authority (IPA) Guideship. Environmental sustainablility is a priority for this ship. The 200 gross tonnage Guideship is to be designed and coordinated by Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) in Korea on behalf of the state-owned Incheon Port Authority (IPA). The in-line Wärtsilä 20DF dual-fuelled engine with its 9 cylinders can operate on either gas or liquid fuel oils…

25 Oct 2007

STX Shipbuilding Gains on Stake Purchase in Aker Yards

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.