Korea and Brazil sign shipbuilding deal

Under the MOU, Korea will provide advanced shipbuilding equipment to Transpetro, which will offer its services to help Korean companies to enter the Brazilian shipbuilding market. Transpetro, a subsidiary of Petrobras, is in charge of Programma de Modernizacao e Expansao da Frota (Promef), which aims to boost Brazil’s shipbuilding industry.

Promef, which was started in 2004 by the Brazilian government, requires shipbuilders to use a certain percentage of domestic parts and equipment, currently at 70%. Kotra said that Korean companies operating in Brazil would be considered domestic suppliers under Promef.