AsiaShipyards

DSME’s liquidity shortage set to worsen

The next few years will prove incredibly hard for Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering’s (DSME) balance sheet, a new due diligence report warns.

Auditor Samjong KPMG is projecting a 2018 liquidity shortage at the restructuring Korean yard of KRW4.55trn ($4.08bn).

Creditors have recently pumped KRW4.2trn into the shipbuilding major, which has been hit by the slowdown in global ordering as well as a massive accounting fraud.

Samjong KPMG predicts DSME’s cash shortage will hit KRW2.34trn this year and KRW3.64trn in 2017. It suggests 2018 will the be the worst on the back of declining orders and maturing debts.

Separately, in the on running fraud investigation that saw more than $4bn pilfered from the yard in recent years, prosecutors today summoned the current CFO of the yard, alleging he also cooked the books. Two former CEOs and a former CFO have been indicted while the former head of lead creditor Korea Development Bank (KDB) is also under investigation.

Sam Chambers

Starting out with the Informa Group in 2000 in Hong Kong, Sam Chambers became editor of Maritime Asia magazine as well as East Asia Editor for the world’s oldest newspaper, Lloyd’s List. In 2005 he pursued a freelance career and wrote for a variety of titles including taking on the role of Asia Editor at Seatrade magazine and China correspondent for Supply Chain Asia. His work has also appeared in The Economist, The New York Times, The Sunday Times and The International Herald Tribune.
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