Gov't mulling sale of DSME to Hanwha Group: sources

SEOUL, Sept. 26. (Yonhap) -- Ranking government officials on Monday discussed a plan to sell major South Korean shipyard Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. (DSME) to Hanwha Group, the country's seventh-largest conglomerate, sources said.

The state-run Korea Development Bank (KDB), DSME's biggest shareholder, reported its plan to dispose of the shipbuilder, including its sale to the defense-to-chemicals conglomerate Hanwha to an emergency meeting of economic ministers, according to the sources.

Depending on the outcome of the meeting, the KDB is slated to call an emergency board meeting later in the day to make a decision on the DSME sale.

KDB Chairman Kang Seog-hoon is expected to hold a news conference on its sale plan in the afternoon.

In 2015, the KDB and other creditors pumped about 4 trillion won (US$2.8 billion) into DSME to save the troubled shipyard from bankruptcy. Currently, the KDB holds a 55.7 percent stake in DSME.

About two weeks ago, Kang told reporters that the state lender is stepping up efforts for the speedy sale of DSME, which could be a way of salvaging DSME, the world's No. 4 shipbuilder by order backlog.

DSME has been faring well this year, bagging $8.6 billion worth of orders to build 36 ships and one offshore plant, achieving 97 percent of its yearly order target.

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