South Korean Shipyards Aim More Orders
South Korean shipyards have sharply raised their order targets for next year on expectations that the shipbuilding sector will improve, Yonhap reported.
The country's three major shipyards - Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI), Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME), and Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) - are looking at improving business conditions on the back of a recovery in the global economy and stable oil prices.
The report quoted industry sources saying that HHI is targeting US$13.2 billion worth of new orders next year, up 76 percent from this year's $7.5 billion. This year, it clinched $10 billion worth of orders.
SHI aims to secure $7.7 billion worth of orders next year, up 18 percent from this year's $6.5 billion, according to the sources. The shipyard also won higher-than-expected orders this year at $6.9 billion.
DSME set its annual order target for next year at over $5 billion. This year, it bagged $2 billion in new orders.
The report said that local shipyards are still struggling with a decline in the order backlog as they have suffered a sharp drop in new orders in the past two years.
