State-run Korea Development Bank is on standby once again to step in and save one of the nation’s shipbuilders.
Hanjin Heavy Industries & Construction, South Korea’s oldest shipbuilder, said Wednesday that its stock trading has been suspended until the end of March due to capital erosion.
The shipyard also said losses leapt to KRW1.32trn won ($1.18bn) last year, from a loss of KRW278bn won a year earlier, hit hard by its Philippines unit, HHIC-Phil, seeking court rehabilitation.
Hanjin Heavy said it would carry out debt-for-equity swaps with its creditors, including state-run KDB, the bank that has done much to save a number of yards in recent years, most notably Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME).
KDB said yesterday it would help Hanjin Heavy negotiate with a number of Filipino financial institutions who are owed vast sums of money by the Korean yard.