Daewoo to sell shipyard

Daewoo`s Okpo yard made a profit of over Won250 billion ($127 million) in the last financial year and has orders for 59 ships filling its capacity to 2001. Its 11,000 workers build an average of 33 ships a year in two drydocks (530 x 130m and 350 x 81m).

The company is willing to talk to any potential buyer, said a spokesman, and two Japanese companies, Mitsui and Kawasaki, were mentioned. Daewoo says while the ownership may change, the management and operation should remain unaltered.

When asked about buying the Okpo yard, Kawasaki`s London office said: “We are facing our own difficulties, there is no reason to expand in another country.” It also added that the price “is too high for any company in shipbuilding to pay.”

Mitsui`s London office echoed earlier reports that such a purchase was unlikely in the current financial situation.