Hanjin Shipping has secured almost $300m (KRW 300 billion) by spinning off its dedicated dry bulk business in a further bid to fortify its finances.
The loss-making Korean shipping conglomerate and private equity firm Hahn & Company now own 22.2% and 77.8%, respectively, of Joint Venture Company H-Line Shipping Co.Hanjin Shipping will place 36 vessels including seven LNG vessels into the venture.
Hanjin Shipping has secured almost $300m (KRW 300 billion) by spinning off its dedicated dry bulk business in a further bid to fortify its finances.
The loss-making Korean shipping conglomerate and private equity firm Hahn & Company now own 22.2% and 77.8%, respectively, of Joint Venture Company H-Line Shipping Co.Hanjin Shipping will place 36 vessels including seven LNG vessels into the venture.
“Hanjin Shipping’s debt ratio and financial structure will be improved by transferring KRW 1.3 trillion worth ship finance and debt to the joint venture,” said a statement from Hanjin.
Late last year the company was forced to turn to Korean Air for a loan of some $140m to help address its “liquidity problems”.
A new management structure has since been implemented in a further attempt to turn the tide at the shipping giant which has been hit hard by the lengthy slump in container rates and racked up major net losses in both 2012 and 2013.
HSBC's latest transport report published earlier today said Hanjin was weakly positioned due to its high exposure to the trans-Pacific container trade: "With mounting debt, we forecast Hanjin will continue to generate losses in 2014 and 2015, despite profits at the operating level."
Discussion about this post