On August 20, HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (KSOE), the shipbuilding holding company of South Korean shipbuilding giant HD Hyundai Group, announced that it will invest 290 billion won (approximately 1.5 billion yuan) to acquire Doosan Vina, the Vietnamese subsidiary of Doosan Enerbility under the Doosan Group. The aim is to utilize it to further expand its ship supporting business, thereby enhancing HD KSOE’s global competitiveness.
In addition to this acquisition, HD Hyundai Group has recently been intensively advancing its overseas expansion plans through measures such as signing major cooperation agreements and restarting overseas shipyards, in order to build a global manufacturing and collaboration network covering Southeast Asia, South Asia, North America, and North Africa.
Acquisition + Restart: A Dual-Core Layout in Southeast Asia
HD KSOE stated that it has signed a stock purchase agreement with Doosan Enerbility to acquire all shares of Doosan Vina held by the latter, with a total transaction value of approximately 290 billion won.
It is understood that Doosan Vina was established in 2006 and is located 120 kilometers south of Da Nang in central Vietnam. It mainly produces thermal power boilers, cranes, and liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant modules. After the acquisition, HD KSOE plans to retain its original business and use the company as an independent tank manufacturing base and as its crane business base in the Asian region.
A relevant official from HD KSOE stated that this transaction meets the interests of both parties and has received government support. Tanks are key components for environmentally friendly ships such as LNG carriers, LNG-fueled vessels, ammonia carriers, and liquefied carbon dioxide carriers. As the International Maritime Organization (IMO)’s environmental regulations become increasingly stringent, the demand for environmentally friendly ships continues to grow. This acquisition will further enhance the company’s ship supporting capabilities, help maximize profits, and thereby enhance its global competitiveness.
Since last year, HD Hyundai Group has initiated a plan to expand its shipbuilding capacity in Vietnam, and this acquisition aligns with that plan. The group is striving to improve shipbuilding efficiency and intends to increase its shipbuilding capacity in Vietnam from the current 12 ships per year to 23 ships per year by 2030.
Just ten days ago, HD KSOE also signed a strategic memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Vietnam National Shipping Lines (VIMC). The two parties will focus on cooperation in four major areas: enhancing shipbuilding capacity, upgrading the VIMC fleet, investing in large-scale ship repair and building facilities, and technology transfer and high-end talent training. This cooperation aims to set a benchmark for Vietnam’s shipbuilding industry and strengthen HD Hyundai Group’s shipbuilding technology leadership in Southeast Asia.
To expand the scale of its ship business in Southeast Asia, HD Hyundai Group also recently confirmed that it will restart the shipbuilding capacity of the Subic Shipyard in the Philippines by 2026, aiming to achieve an annual production of 10 ships within the next 3 to 5 years, primarily building product tankers and offshore wind structures.
Currently, related restoration work at the Subic Shipyard is progressing in an orderly manner, and welder training has begun. A total of 3,500 workers have been recruited, and it is expected to employ about 7,000 people when fully operational.
It is reported that the Subic Shipyard was established by the former Korean shipbuilder Hanjin Heavy Industries in 2006, mainly building large container ships, gas carriers, and tankers. In 2019, due to Hanjin Heavy Industries Philippines Corporation defaulting on $1.3 billion in loans, the Subic Shipyard ceased operations and entered court receivership. In April 2022, Cerberus completed the acquisition of the Subic Shipyard for $300 million with a 50-year lease. In May of the same year, the Philippine Navy announced it would formally take over a 100-hectare area in the northern part of the Subic Shipyard for an annual rent of 1 billion Philippine pesos, planning to convert it into a Philippine naval base. In 2024, HD Hyundai Group obtained a 10-year lease for approximately 200 hectares of land in the southern part of the Subic Shipyard and committed to investing about $550 million over the next 10 years.
Cooperation + Bidding: Global Multi-Polar Expansion
To address insufficient capacity and seize opportunities amid increasing uncertainty in the international environment and heightened geopolitical tensions, HD Hyundai Group’s global expansion pace is accelerating.
In July of this year, HD KSOE signed a long-term cooperation framework agreement in shipbuilding with India’s largest state-owned shipyard, Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL). According to the agreement, the two parties will promote cooperation in design procurement, production efficiency improvement, and technology upgrading, seek cooperation in areas such as human resource development and advanced training, and also explore order opportunities in the Indian and overseas markets. Notably, through this cooperation, HD KSOE also gained access to Cochin Shipyard’s dock facilities and is evaluating whether it can build ships of the same quality standard as in Korea at the Indian shipyard.
As the Korean shipbuilding industry strengthens cooperation with the U.S. shipbuilding industry, HD Hyundai Group is also continuously expanding its partners. In June of this year, HD KSOE signed a cooperation agreement with the well-known U.S. shipowner Edison Chouest Offshore (ECO). The partners plan to begin cooperatively building LNG dual-fuel medium-sized container ships in the United States by 2028. This move aims to “comprehensively promote and enhance the level of U.S. commercial shipbuilding,” while also further consolidating Korea-U.S. trade relations through cooperation in shipbuilding. HD KSOE will be responsible for ship design, LNG technology integration, equipment procurement, and technical support throughout the entire construction process. In the future, the two parties also intend to expand cooperation to other areas such as icebreakers, naval vessels, and cranes.
Prior to this, HD Hyundai Group also signed a memorandum of understanding with Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) of the United States to accelerate cooperation in commercial shipbuilding and the defense sector. The two parties will formally establish a strategic partnership, fully utilize their respective comprehensive resources and expertise to accelerate technological innovation, maximize ship production efficiency, and strengthen cooperation in the global defense industry to enhance the comprehensive strength of Korea and the United States in the maritime industry.
Meanwhile, driven by the Korea-U.S. shipbuilding cooperation plan “MASGA” project, there are also reports that HD Hyundai Group does not rule out the possibility of acquiring a U.S. shipyard.
At the same time, according to sources, HD Hyundai Group is also formulating plans to participate in a tender by the Moroccan port authority for the construction of a large-scale new shipyard in the port of Casablanca. According to the tender announcement, this new shipyard will directly compete with shipyards under Spain’s Navantia group once built and is expected to become the largest shipyard in Africa. The operator of the shipyard will be selected through an international tender, and the winning operator will obtain the development, operation, and maintenance rights for the shipyard for a period of 30 years.
Source: China Ship News
