South Korea

South Korean state banks are preparing a fresh $2.6 billion bailout for floundering Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co Ltd (042660.KS), which has built up huge losses from offshore projects and risks missing debt repayments, Reuters reported. Without the infusion of funds, Daewoo is not expected to be able to redeem 940 billion won ($840.49 million) in corporate bonds maturing this year - starting with 440 billion won due in April, the country's financial regulator, the Financial Services Commission (FSC), said on Thursday.

South Korea's KEPCO, the likeliest suitor for Toshiba Corp's troubled nuclear business, is holding off from making an approach because of question marks over the scale of damage at the unit and political uncertainty in both South Korea and the United States, people with direct knowledge of the matter say, Reuters reported. Japanese TV-to-rail conglomerate Toshiba has been battered by a $6.3 billion hit from overruns in the nuclear business and has widened a probe into governance failures at its U.S.-based unit, Westinghouse. It is now considering a sale.

South Korea’s financial authorities are considering a new bailout package for troubled shipyard Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. that includes haircuts for bondholders and fresh loans, people directly involved in the matter said, The Wall Street Journal reported. The Financial Services Commission, Korea’s main financial regulator, wants the yard’s creditors to write down 20% to 30% of its debt in addition to banks lending it another 3 trillion won ($2.68 billion), according to the people involved.

Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME), once one of Korea's biggest shipbuilders, faces a potential crisis, despite claims to the contrary. The financial authority here has assured the market that the company faces no such scenario where it could default on its debt, The Korea Times reported. But the question remains as to whether Daewoo can refinance and repay 440 billion won owed to investors next month. With the company running out of money without any new projects that can improve cash flow, the market remains concerned over the lack of liquidity.

A South Korean court declared Hanjin Shipping Co Ltd bankrupt on Friday, after ruling earlier this month that the firm's liquidation value would be worth more than its value as a going concern, the International New York Times reported on a Reuters story. Hanjin Shipping, which had been the world's seventh-largest container shipper, applied for court receivership in late August after its creditor banks halted further support. The Seoul Central District Court said in a statement it has chosen a bankruptcy administrator, and claims by creditors are due by May 1, 2017.

Hyundai Merchant Marine Co., South Korea’s biggest sea carrier, said it will post losses through the first half of 2018 as the container-shipping industry attempts to recover from Hanjin Shipping Co.’s bankruptcy and years of excess capacity, Bloomberg News reported. As a hedge against adverse conditions plaguing shipping, Hyundai Merchant has initiated talks to invest in box terminals in Southeast Asia, Chief Executive Officer Yoo Chang-keun, 64, said in an interview Monday.

The domestic shipping industry, which is already facing difficulty due to a long recession, has been hit by one of its biggest crises due to the collapse of Hanjin Shipping, the Korea Times reported in a commentary. Pressed by snowballing debt, Korea's largest shipper filed for court receivership in August last year. In an effort to stay afloat, the company sold its core assets, including vessels that operate on its lucrative Asia-U.S. route.

A South Korean court said on Thursday it decided to end Hanjin Shipping Co Ltd's court receivership process and expects to declare bankruptcy on February 17 after a two-week period for appeals, Reuters reported. The Seoul Central District Court said in a statement that it made the decision as the firm's liquidation value would be worth more than its value as a going concern. Hanjin Shipping, which had been the world's seventh-largest container shipper, applied for court receivership in late August after its creditor banks halted further support.

Bankrupt South Korean shipping line Hanjin Shipping Co Ltd won U.S. court approval at a hearing on Wednesday for the $78 million sale of its stake in U.S. terminal operator Total Terminals International LLC, overcoming objections of container companies. "My decision is to approve the sale," U.S. Bankruptcy Judge John Sherwood said, adding he would approve the transfer of the sale's proceeds to South Korea.

A South Korean court on Thursday blocked a prosecutor’s attempt to arrest Jay Y. Lee, the leader of Samsung, saying there was not enough evidence that Mr. Lee had bribed President Park Geun-hye, in a scandal that led to her impeachment, the International New York Times reported. A justice on the Central District Court in Seoul, Cho Eui-yeon, rejected the prosecutor’s request to issue an arrest warrant, saying said it was “difficult to recognize the need” to incarcerate Mr. Lee. Mr.