Two unidentified Chinese shipbuilding groups have expressed an interest in taking over the bust Philippine yard belonging to Hanjin Heavy Industries & Construction.
HHIC-Phil, Hanjin Heavy’s Subic Bay subsidiary, became one of the biggest victims of the shipbuilding downturn when it filed for rehabilitation last week. With loans of $412m owned to five local banks, HHIC-Phil’s demise could be the biggest corporate default in Philippine history and has sent the government scrambling to find a solution.
Philippine trade undersecretary Ceferino Rodolfo said on Friday that he had been in discussions with two Chinese shipbuilding groups who had expressed an interest in taking over the yard, which at 300 ha, is the largest in Southeast Asia.
Hanjin “has been a valued investor that helped us develop a pool of workers … We are looking at linking them up with other investors who have expressed interest in shipbuilding in the Philippines,” Rodolfo said, adding: “Our first objective is to replace with another shipbuilder that will take over.”
