Bank Of Korea News

Harim Holdings on Tuesday said it has been chosen as the preferred bidder to buy control of South Korea's biggest container shipping company HMM in what people with knowledge of the matter said was a 6.4 trillion won ($4.92 billion) deal.Harim and HMM creditors Korea Development Bank and Korea Ocean Business will negotiate a final deal by the first half of 2024 for 58% of the shipper, said the people, declining to be identified as they were not authorised to discuss terms.Harim entered bidding via a consortium led by its bulk shipping unit Pan Ocean.

Containership giant Seaspan Corporation announced on Wednesday that it now has financing lined up for its entire 70-vessel newbuild program.With the completion of the latest $1.4 billion deal in December, Seaspan said its financing proceeds are approximately $6.9 billion.Seaspan, a subsidiary of Atlas Corp, said the $1.4 billion will be used to finance ten 15,000 TEU LNG dual-fuel newbuilds, the last of its recent $7.6 billion containership ordering spree, including three ships that have already been delivered.

GasLog signed an Export Credit Agency-backed debt financing of $1.05 billion with 12 international banks for its current newbuilding program.The LNG carrier owner and operator has seven LNG carriers on order at South Korean shipyard Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI), five of which are for delivery in 2020 with two more due in 2021.The Newbuild Facility covers the balance due to the shipyard on delivery and consequently the final installments of the seven newbuildings are fully funded.Five of these seven newbuildings are scheduled to deliver from the yards into firm multi-year charters in 2020 and the remaining two into firm multi-year charters in 2021.The facility has a tenor of up to 12 years with an amortization profile of 18 years from vessel delivery.

Norwegian LNG carrier owner Flex LNG posted a net income of USD 0.5 million for the third quarter of this year, compared to a net loss of $3.9 million for the second quarter 2019.It  reported revenues of $29.8 million for the third quarter 2019, compared to $19.0 million for the second quarter 2019.Øystein M Kalleklev, CEO of Flex LNG Management AS, said: “In line with our expectations, the freight market has become increasingly tighter in the second half of 2019 resulting in much more favorable market conditions despite low gas prices. Flex LNG has been very well positioned for the stronger market with ships available in the spot market…

About 60.3 percent of the world’s ship orders are projected to be for liquefied natural gas (LNG)-fueled vessels by 2025."Ships powered by LNG are expected to account for six out of 10 new vessel orders in six years due to toughened environmental standards," said a report in Pulse News.A study report released by Korea Development Bank and Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency said that that as many as 1,962 new LNG carriers would be built by 2025. It also expected demand for LNG bunkering vessels to jump more than tenfold, from 313,000 tons in 2016 to 3.2 million tons in 2030.On condition that Korean shipbuilders would be responsible for building more than 60 percent of the world’s large LNG-fueled vessels…

Tanker shipping company Euronav has secured a loan facility providing financing for four ice-class suezmax newbuildings under construction by Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries Co., Ltd., two of which have recently been delivered with the remaining two scheduled for delivery later in 2018.Watson Farley & Williams LLP (WFW) said it acted for Crédit Agricole Corporate & Investment Bank in relation to a $173.5 million loan facility for Euronav NV signed on March 22, 2018. The commercial lenders were Crédit Agricole Corporate & Investment Bank, BNP Paribas Fortis SA/NV and Sea Bridge Finance Limited and The Export-Import Bank of Korea acted as ECA lender.WFW also acted for ING Belgium SA/NV on a $220 million loan facility for Euronav and International Seaways signed on March 29…

As part of the government's large-scale rescue plan for shipping sector, the Export-Import Bank of Korea  (Korea Eximbank) sets a figure for loans and guarantees to the country's shipping sector. According to Yonhap, Korea Eximbank will funnel more than 800 billion won ($749.3 million) in shipping finance as a part of the state-sponsored program to revive the shipping industry following the collapse of Korea’s flag sea carrier Hanjin Shipping. The five-year plan for rehabilitating the maritime sector involves the building of more than 200 ships, including 140 bulk carriers and 60 container ships. The report quoted Eun Sung-soo, Korea Eximbank chairman and president saying that the fund will be given in the forms of loans and guarantees that the shippers can use to purchase new vessels…

The South Korean government decided to restructure two financially-troubled mid-sized shipbuilders, said a report in Business Korea. While filing for court receivership for the debt-ridden Sungdong Shipbuilding, the government has decided to save STX Offshore and Shipbuilding Co. on condition of slashing 75 percent of its production workforce. The two shipbuilders are heavily indebted to Korea's two state-run banks, as they have struggled with snowballing losses amid unfavorable oil prices and the worldwide industry downturn. According to the report, the government held a ministerial meeting to discuss ways to strengthen the industrial competitiveness and announce its restructuring plans for mid-size shipbuilders.

Though South Korea’s big three shipbuilders -Hyundai Heavy Industries, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, and Samsung Heavy Industries - showing signs of fiscal recovery this year,  orders at midsized shipbuilding companies remain sparse. Korea Herald reported citing  Korea Export-Import Bank of Korea that the order receipts of medium-sized shipyards in Korea were estimated to be around $110 million in the first quarter. Despite an improvement compared to last year’s first quarter, when there was not a single order, ship orders for the countries eight mid-sized shipbuilders are insufficient compared to the top three. Korea’s big three received a total of 36 vessel orders worth $3.48 billion so far this year.

Bondholders at final meetings agree to debt-to-equity swap; shipbuilder needs about $400 mln in operating funds by April-end. South Korea's Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co Ltd has won near unanimous agreement from bondholders to swap their debt for equity, meeting a condition that unlocks a $2.6 billion bank bailout for the world's biggest shipbuilder. Daewoo won approval from over 96 percent of bondholders at two meetings on Tuesday and three on Monday, with attendance exceeding 78 percent. The meetings came shortly after the shipbuilder won the approval of its biggest bondholder, the National Pension Service. "We will normalise the company as soon as possible through bone-grinding effort…

Debt-to-equity swap plan is condition of $2.6 bln bailout. South Korea's Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co Ltd on Monday won near unanimous approval for a debt-to-equity swap plan in the first three of five bondholder meetings, as the world's largest shipbuilder battles to stay afloat. The votes were held hours after Daewoo's biggest bondholder, the National Pension Service (NPS), said it had agreed to the proposal. That move made it likely other bondholders would follow suit, creditor bank officials said, allowing the shipbuilder to meet conditions of a $2.6 billion bank bailout. The shipbuilder has been pushed to the brink by the impact of historically low oil prices, which caused delays in payments for complex offshore facilities.

BW LPG Limited has signed a Debt Facility Agreement of USD290 million for the re-financing of six 2016 built ex-Aurora ships. The re-financing has been raised from The Export-Import Bank of Korea (KEXIM) as ECA (Export Credit Agency) lender, with ABN AMRO Bank N.V., Singapore branch and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation Limited as Mandated Lead Arrangers. ABN AMRO Bank N.V., Singapore branch also acted as coordinator and facility agent. The all-in cost for this financing is LIBOR plus 1.88%, with a 16-year amortization profile. Martin added: "The ex-Aurora fleet is now fully re-financed at similar competitive terms and structure as the rest of the BW LPG fleet, which further strengthens our competitive edge in a challenging market.

South Korean state banks are preparing a fresh $2.6 billion bailout for floundering Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co Ltd, which has built up huge losses from offshore projects and risks missing debt repayments. Daewoo, Hyundai Heavy Industries and Samsung Heavy Industries are South Korea's top shipbuilders - a massive economic force and a source of national pride. But they slipped into the red in 2015 amid a commodities downturn and bleak trade volumes, prompting cost cuts and asset sales. Of the three, Daewoo's situation is the most difficult.

Oman Shipping Company, wholly owned by the government of Oman, raised $227 million in debt to back the purchase of 10 tankers, Societe Generale said on Thursday.   Societe Generale was the sole arranger and sole underwriter of the transaction, which comprised a combination of commercial debt and export credit agency financing.   The commercial portion of the debt package also involved Credit Agricole Corporate & Investment Bank, the Korea Development Bank and ABN Amro. Reporting by Davide Barbuscia

Korea Development Bank, the main creditor of the dissolved Hanjin Shipping Co. and state-owned entity, has put 10 Hanjin vessels up for sale in order to source back elements of its extended loans, reports Yonhap. According to the sources, potential buyers are required to submit their bids for the ships — two container ships and eight bulk carriers — by Feb. 21. Previously a South Korean court agreed to formally end Hanjin Shipping Co Ltd’s court receivership process after a two week appeal period, ending the business. Therefore any method of rehabilitation for the South Korean shipping company is now over, thus heralding liquidation.

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.

Scorpio Tankers Inc. announced today that the Company has received commitments for a loan facility of up to $172 million from a group of financial institutions including Macquarie Bank Limited (London Branch), DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale ("DekaBank"), The Export-Import Bank of Korea ("KEXIM") and Garanti-Instituttet for Eksportkreditt ("GIEK"). The loan facility, which is composed of multiple tranches, will be used to finance up to 60% of the market value of eight MR product tankers under construction at Hyundai Mipo Dockyard Co., Ltd. which are scheduled for delivery in 2017 and 2018. The maturity date of each tranche is between six and 12 years from each drawdown date, and the facility bears interest at LIBOR plus a blended margin of 2.02% per annum.

Tanker carrier Scorpio Tankers has landed a loan deal for USD 172 million. The money will finance 60 percent of eight new MR product tankers which are currently under construction in South Korea. The company said in a press release that it has received commitments for a loan facility of up to $172 million from a group of financial institutions including Macquarie Bank Limited (London Branch), DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale (DekaBank), The Export-Import Bank of Korea (KEXIM) and Garanti-Instituttet for Eksportkreditt (GIEK). The loan facility, which is composed of multiple tranches, will be used to finance up to 60% of the market value of eight MR product tankers under construction at Hyundai Mipo Dockyard Co., Ltd. which are scheduled for delivery in 2017 and 2018.

Struggling Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co Ltd's will receive an injection of 2.8 trillion won ($2.4 billion) from two state-run creditor banks to save it from being delisted, one of the lenders said.   Daewoo's main creditor, Korea Development Bank (KDB), said in a statement it will cancel about 60 million of its Daewoo shares, and reduce the remaining stake by a ratio of ten shares to one to cut the ship builder's debt-to-asset ratio.   It will then inject 1.8 trillion won ($1.6 billion) in Daewoo in a debt-for-equity swap.   The Export-Import Bank of Korea will buy 1 trillion won in Daewoo-issued perpetual bonds to shore up Daewoo's finances, KDB added. ($1 = 1,149.3900 won) (Reporting by Joyce Lee; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)

Creditors of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) are set to announce a debt-for-equity swap and other measures, worth 3 trillion won (US$2.62 billion), reports Yonhap. Korea Development Bank (KDB), a main creditor of DSME, said that the bank will accept debt-to-equity swaps worth at least 1.6 trillion won ($1.4 billion) to keep the company operating with sufficient financial liquidity. KDB along with  the other creditor Export-Import Bank of Korea (EXIM Bank) would provide a combined 4.2 trillion won worth of financial aid to Daewoo Shipbuilding, which breaks down to 2.6 trillion won from KDB and 1.6 trillion won from the other lender. The financial support includes a debt-for-equity swap and the purchase of stocks to be issued by the shipbuilder.

The government of South Korea has decided to help Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM), the nation’s only major shipping line, grow into a mega shipper by all means available, reports Business Korea. The state plans to provide loans of up to 6.5 trillion won (US$5.68 billion) to domestic shipping firms, including HMM, so that they can grow in size and survive in the global chicken game. The government has  announced plans to raise the competitiveness of the shipbuilding and shipping industries. The plans were focused on enlarging HMM, which is actually the only one global shipping company from the nation, in order to boost its competitiveness in the global market.

South Korea's state-run banks are expected to raise more than 3 trillion won (US$2.64 billion) to prevent Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) from being delisted, reports Korea Herald. Both are reportedly planning to draw up detailed plans within the month. The funds will be injected into the ailing shipbuilder through debt-equity swap or by purchasing newly issued shares. Meanwhile, Pulse reported that despite a recent outside audit report questioning the viability of DSME, the Korean government along with the banks are determined to turn the shipbuilder around instead of sending it to the bankruptcy court for reorganization.

Concerns were growing again over liquidity woes of Soth Korea's largest shipbuilder Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME), as the Angolan oil major Sonangol EP is likely to delay the takeover of its drill ships once again. According to The Korea Herald, DSME was planning to deliver the two drill ships to Angola’s state-run oil company Sonangol by this month to receive the remaining contract fee of $1 billion. The South Korean shipbuilder has completed building two drill ships, set to be delivered in June and July, respectively, but due to financial difficulties, the Angolan company has postponed the delivery. The companies have agreed to push the transaction date to end-September, but the takeover is being postponed again.