The creditors of Hanjin Heavy Industries & Construction (HHIC) have agreed to give the Korean yard some breathing space to get its finances more in order. The Korea Development Bank and nine other banks have acquiesced to HHIC’s request for an autonomous arrangement with its creditors, whereby its backers will postpone demands for loan repayments to allow HHIC to get through its current cash-flow issues.
Under the voluntary agreement, creditors will push back a deadline for HHIC’s debt payment and select an accounting firm to conduct a due diligence.
Then creditors will look at disposing of some more of HHIC’s non-core assets as well as coming up with a proper restructuring plan by April.
Once the world’s fourth largest shipbuilder, HHIC has giant debts of around $1bn. As well as its Busan yard, it has a huge shipyard in the north of the Philippines.
