In order to revitalize the Korean shipbuilding industry, how to make the merger of Hyundai Heavy Industries and Daewoo Shipbuilding through China, the EU and Japan's anti-monopoly review has become the most "headache" for the Korean government. Because of the alleged monopoly, if it is rejected, Hyundai Heavy Industries and Daewoo The merger of shipbuilding may not be effective, which will obviously hit the Korean shipbuilding industry.
According to Korean media, in order to help the merger of Hyundai Heavy Industries and Daewoo Shipbuilding successfully pass the anti-monopoly review of various countries, the Korean Anti-monopoly Agency's Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) will provide a reference for other countries' anti-monopoly regulators as soon as possible. Make a reasonable decision on the deal.
The Fair Trade Commission Republic of Korea is an agency responsible for economic competition regulation in South Korea. Kim Sang-jo, chairman of the Fair Trade Commission, said recently that a key issue is how to allow antitrust regulators in other countries to accept South Korea's judgment. He pointed out that if other countries do not approve the acquisition, the transactions of Hyundai Heavy Industries and Daewoo Shipbuilding will be meaningless.
An official of the Fair Trade Commission dealing with this matter said that the antitrust regulator may take more than 120 days to decide whether to approve the acquisition.
On March 8, Hyundai Heavy Industries signed a formal agreement with Korea Industrial Bank to acquire Daewoo Shipbuilding. As a major shareholder of Daewoo Shipbuilding, Korea Industrial Bank has a 55.7% stake in Daewoo Shipbuilding. The value of the acquisition of Daewoo Shipbuilding by Hyundai Heavy Industries is expected to exceed 2 trillion won (US$1.78 billion) and is expected to be the largest acquisition in the history of the Korean shipbuilding industry.
The merger will not only change the pattern of the Korean shipbuilding industry, but also create a real “big Mac” shipbuilding company. According to Clarkson's data, after the merger, the two shipyards will have an overall hand-held order volume of 365 ships and 17 million CGTs, accounting for more than one-fifth of the world's total handheld orders, with a market share of 21.2%. After the merger, the amount of hand-held orders is much higher than that of the No. 1 shipbuilding industry (166 ships, 5.25 million CGT).
It is understood that since 2000, no shipbuilding group has been able to control more than 20% of the global market. Due to concerns about anti-monopoly, the merger of Hyundai Heavy Industries and Daewoo Shipbuilding faces regulatory obstacles in China, the European Union and Japan.
Anti-monopoly agencies in China, the European Union and Japan may carefully review the merger of Hyundai Heavy Industries and Daewoo Shipbuilding. As of the beginning of this year, the two shipyards have 72 LNG ships holding orders, accounting for 60% of the global market share. If the regulator determines that such market dominance will distort competition and harm the interests of shipping customers and consumers, the deal may face restrictions.
It is reported that regulators in China, the EU and Japan may make their own decisions by the end of this year. If the merger transaction is rejected, this will seriously hit the South Korean government. It is understood that the Korean government still regards the shipbuilding industry as a pillar industry and a major source of employment. According to data from the Korea Institute of Technology Evaluation and Planning, South Korea has been leading China for more than three years in shipbuilding research and development. More than the gap between green cars in the past two years and semiconductors in the past three years.
Considering that the Korean shipbuilding industry is China's biggest competitor, and Japan and Europe have strongly opposed the attitude of the South Korean government to subsidize the shipbuilding industry, whether the merger of Hyundai Heavy Industries and Daewoo Shipbuilding can be finally passed, and now it seems that it is still fashionable. early.