says South Korea finance official:

No merger of ‘Big Three’ shipbuilders

South Korea’s ‘Big Three’ shipbuilders – Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI), Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI), and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) – will not be merged in the short term, a government official has announced.

News ID: 71271

Date: 01 January 2017 - 16:32

According to MANA, At a press briefing, Financial Services Commission chief Yim Jong-ryong said, “While DSME has been poorly managed, we cherish South Korea’s position as the world’s number one shipbuilding nation and we should maintain this status.

We will never give up an industry in which South Korea is the world number one, he add.

Despite rumours that Seoul is pushing DSME to merge with either HHI or SHI, Yim said such a scenario will not happen in the short term.

Through layoffs and capacity reduction, DSME should recover sufficiently for an expected recovery in ship orders in 2018, due to tightening environmental regulations, he said.