Korea May Limit Bidders for Daewoo

A South Korean state agency that is jointly selling 51 percent of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering said that it might reject bids from companies that did not support national interests, according to a Bloomberg report published in the International Herald Tribune.

Korea Asset Management, which liquidates distressed assets at financial companies, plans to sell its stake in Daewoo Shipbuilding, which it owns with Korea Development Bank, next year.

South Korea, the world's biggest shipbuilder, is facing increased competition from China and may lose its top ranking should Daewoo Shipbuilding be sold to foreign interests. Five years ago, Korean shipyards had 49 percent of all new orders by deadweight tonnage, according to Clarksons, a London-based shipping services company. By 2004, its share had slipped to 34 percent.