Daewoo yard set to be spun off

As this issue of

The Motor

Ship was due to go to press, it became clear that creditors of Daewoo, the debt-laden South Korean chaebol, had agreed a plan for the break-up of the conglomerate.

Under the plan, approved in mid-August, large parts of the Korean concern – including shipbuilding, part of the Daewoo Heavy arm of the chaebol – will be spun off, leaving a core of just six, largely motor vehicle-based concerns.

The Daewoo group, Korea’s second largest chaebol, has debts amounting to a staggering $40-50 billion, so the shipbuilding division – one of the more profitable parts of the chaebol – and a number of other successful businesses will be sold as stand-alone businesses.

The shipbuilding division currently has a $6 billion orderbook, including more than 60 commercial vessels and numerous offshore projects. Daewoo says it hopes to find a buyer for the yard by the end of 1999.