A decision to award DSME up to 10 VLCC newbuildings for Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM) has come as no surprise to the shipbuilding industry.
Insiders in South Korea say state-backed Korea Development Bank (KDB) masterminded the contract for liquidity-strapped DSME. The bank is the biggest shareholder in both HMM and DSME.
KDB’s ownership in the two companies is said to have been of concern to Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) and Samsung Heavy Industries from when the shipping company ?? first invited them to bid for the newbuilding project.
