Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME), one of the largest shipyards in the world, will cut the amount of orders it takes in by one fifth and lead creditor, Korea Development Bank (KDB), will decide whether or not to accept each individual order placed at the yard. These are the latest changes in a serious restructuring of the shipbuilder, which has racked up billions of dollars of debts this year on the back of the slump in offshore as well as alleged accounting malpractices.
A KDB-led committee will issue a refund guarantee only when it is convinced the yard can make a profit on the construction. In recent years DSME has taken on too many offshore contracts at prices which proved to be far too low.
KDB, which has a lead 31.5% stake in DSME, has said it is keen to offload its shareholding in the shipyard as soon as possible.
