Hyundai Merchant Marine Co, South Korea’s second-largest container line, surged in Seoul trading after the company was said to be looking at some assets of troubled rival Hanjin Shipping Co for a possible acquisition.
The stock jumped 6 percent to close at 8,700 won, the highest level since Sept. 8, helping to trim the decline this year to 70 percent.
Hanjin shares fell 12 percent to 955 won.
Photo: EPA
Financial institutions that provided money to Hanjin specifically to buy carriers have approached Hyundai Merchant for sale of its vessels, mostly container ships, people with direct knowledge of the matter said, asking not to be identified, as the talks are private.
Korea Development Bank — the largest shareholder of Hyundai Merchant and the biggest lender to Hanjin — and the Seoul Central District Court have been pushing to find a solution to the troubles at Hanjin, whose filing for bankruptcy protection last month has roiled the global supply-chain industry.
“The government is trying to make Hyundai Merchant more competitive by buying some of Hanjin’s assets,” said Park Moo-hyun, an analyst at Hana Financial Investment Co in Seoul. “If a purchase happens, we will have to wait and see how it can really help Hyundai Merchant.”
Hyundai Merchant is not aware of any specific reason for the stock’s surge yesterday, a spokesman said.
Separately, Hyundai Merchant intends to announce its long-term business plan in November, which could include reorganization of its structure and staff, another company spokesman said yesterday.
A.T. Kearney Inc, International Business Machines Corp and FM Associates are consulting the container line on the plan, he said.
Hyundai Merchant is in the midst of a creditor-led debt-restructuring program. Unlike Hanjin, it has managed to obtain financial help after meeting all requirements for funds, including adjusting charter rates.
State-run Korea Development Bank (KDB) is now the biggest shareholder of Hyundai Merchant after swapping debt for equity. KDB owns about 12 percent of the company, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Creditors and owners are stepping up efforts to help ease cargo disruptions resulting from boxes stuck on Hanjin’s stranded vessels. Last week, KDB said it would offer a credit line of 50 billion won (US$45 million) to Hanjin if funds previously pledged by the owners are insufficient to ease the situation.
“Hanjin Shipping selling assets will put a dent in its competitiveness,” said Cho Byung-hee, an analyst at Kiwoom Securities Co in Seoul. “This means the scope of its business is going to shrink from now.”
The government on Friday said that it would come up with a plan next month to help improve the competitiveness of the nation’s shipping industry.
The plan will focus on securing “affordable” vessels and the government might consider ordering new ships to enable Hyundai Merchant to handle exports, South Korean Vice Minister of Oceans and Fisheries Yoon Hag-bae said.
Stephen Garrett, a 27-year-old graduate student, always thought he would study in China, but first the country’s restrictive COVID-19 policies made it nearly impossible and now he has other concerns. The cost is one deterrent, but Garrett is more worried about restrictions on academic freedom and the personal risk of being stranded in China. He is not alone. Only about 700 American students are studying at Chinese universities, down from a peak of nearly 25,000 a decade ago, while there are nearly 300,000 Chinese students at US schools. Some young Americans are discouraged from investing their time in China by what they see
Taiwan Transport and Storage Corp (TTS, 台灣通運倉儲) yesterday unveiled its first electric tractor unit — manufactured by Volvo Trucks — in a ceremony in Taipei, and said the unit would soon be used to transport cement produced by Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台灣水泥). Both TTS and TCC belong to TCC International Holdings Ltd (台泥國際集團). With the electric tractor unit, the Taipei-based cement firm would become the first in Taiwan to use electric vehicles to transport construction materials. TTS chairman Koo Kung-yi (辜公怡), Volvo Trucks vice president of sales and marketing Johan Selven, TCC president Roman Cheng (程耀輝) and Taikoo Motors Group
MAJOR DROP: CEO Tim Cook, who is visiting Hanoi, pledged the firm was committed to Vietnam after its smartphone shipments declined 9.6% annually in the first quarter Apple Inc yesterday said it would increase spending on suppliers in Vietnam, a key production hub, as CEO Tim Cook arrived in the country for a two-day visit. The iPhone maker announced the news in a statement on its Web site, but gave no details of how much it would spend or where the money would go. Cook is expected to meet programmers, content creators and students during his visit, online newspaper VnExpress reported. The visit comes as US President Joe Biden’s administration seeks to ramp up Vietnam’s role in the global tech supply chain to reduce the US’ dependence on China. Images on
New apartments in Taiwan’s major cities are getting smaller, while old apartments are increasingly occupied by older people, many of whom live alone, government data showed. The phenomenon has to do with sharpening unaffordable property prices and an aging population, property brokers said. Apartments with one bedroom that are two years old or older have gained a noticeable presence in the nation’s six special municipalities as well as Hsinchu county and city in the past five years, Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房產集團) found, citing data from the government’s real-price transaction platform. In Taipei, apartments with one bedroom accounted for 19 percent of deals last