Creditors of the troubled South Korean shipbuilding giant STX Shipbuilding & Offshore have agreed to restructure the company, media reports say.
“Creditors agreed on a debt restructuring of the (STX) group’s shipbuilding unit on July 31, prompting investors to bet on a turnaround,” the Bloomberg news agency reported.
STX Shipbuilding & Offshore is the parent company of STX Europe, the Oslo based company that controls 64% of the shares in STX France and owns in full STX Finland that has shipyards in Turku and Rauma. Both the French and Finnish units are notable builders of cruise and ferry tonnage.
Employers at the ig Turku yard in Finland were relieved about the news, the Turun Sanomat daily said. “It is not good for business if the owner or parent company hovers on the brink of bankruptcy,” Ari Rajamaki, who is in charge of Health & Safety, was quoted by the paper’s online edition as saying.
Jari Aalto, shop steward at the yard said: “It is obvious that customers look at (the yard) with a magnifying glass and certainly ask questions about the (financial) health of the parent when signing contracts.”
The STX conglomerate, with businesses ranging from shipbuilding to components, has been trying to raise 2.5 trillion won ($2.2 billion) by selling stakes after a slump in charter rates and orders for new vessels prompted flagship Pan Ocean to file for court protection in June, Bloombergs reported.
