High-level government and financial figures in South Korea are pushing a plan that could see two of the country’s top-tier shipyards merge.

Industry talk has intensified that the government’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy wants to see Samsung Group’s shipbuilding arm, Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI), take over Korean Development Bank (KDB)-controlled DSME.

Sources in Korea say the government has lost faith in KDB’s efforts to turn around loss-making DSME.