Asia/Pacific News
Updated: HMM Expected to Receive $633 Million in State-Backed Financing
Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM) is set to receive as much as KRW720 billion ($633 million) from South Korea's new shipping and marine shipping fund, Splash 24/7 reports.
As Ship & Bunker previously reported, the South Korean government established a KRW 1 trillion ($879.1 million) state-backed vessel financing company, Korea Shipping Co (KSC), to support the country's shipping sector in the wake of in the wake of the collapse of shipping giant Hanjin Shipping Co. Ltd. (Hanjin).
KSC is also said to be set to purchase 10 container vessels from HMM, leasing them back to the shipping company as part of its restructuring process.
As JOC reports, Moody's Thursday upgraded HMM’s credit rating from D to BB, moving the company from a "default" rating to "stable."
Last week, Ship & Bunker reported that HMM said it would post losses through to the first half of 2018 as it continues to work to improve its financial position.
Once it achieves a turn around to profit, HMM says it plans to order newbuild vessels in order to meet new emission regulations coming into force at the end of the decade.
In December, HMM announced it had reached an agreement for strategic cooperation with the 2M alliance members, Maersk Line and Mediterranean Shipping Company S.A. (MSC), which will see the three parties cooperate on slot exchanges and slot purchases.
Corrections and amplifications: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated "$633 Billion" in the headline
