No Financial Aid for STX Shipbuilding, Say Creditors
Creditors of financially troubled STX Offshore & Shipbuilding are opposing financial aid for the shipyard citing the gloomy outlook of the shipbuilding industry, Korea’s Yonhap News has reported.
Creditors of STX Offshore, led by the state-run Korea Development Bank (KDB), decided to provide 450bn won ($384m) in financial aid to the shipyard last week in return for a thorough restructuring.
But Woori Bank and KEB Hana Bank notified other creditors that they would not join the plan citing the shipbuilding industry’s worsening business conditions.
STX Offshore is expected to receive the financial assistance as planned without the two lenders’ help. In return for the additional financial aid, the business portfolio of STX Offshore will be reorganized to focus on tankers and small-sized LNG carriers, according the report.
Local lenders' exposure to STX Offshore & Shipbuilding stood at 4.29 trillion won at the end of September, with KDB alone extending the largest amount of loans, totaling 1.89 trillion won.
The creditors have provided over 4 trillion won to the shipyard, but it is still reeling from losses. Last year, the shipyard suffered operating losses of 314 billion won.
