Seoul to provide 400 bil. won in financial support to shipbuilding industry

HD Hyundai Heavy Industries' shipyard in the southeastern city of Ulsan / Courtesy of HD Hyundai Heavy Industries

A special guarantee program will be launched to provide up to 400 billion won ($272.4 million) in financing support to help the shipbuilding industry enhance its export competitiveness, the industry ministry said Friday.

The program is aimed at offering low-interest loans to small and medium-sized suppliers of South Korean shipbuilding giant HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources.

To this end, HD Hyundai and Hana Bank will make a special contribution of a combined 28 billion won, which will be used by the state-run Korea Trade Insurance Corp. (K-Sure) to provide payment guarantees for up to 400 billion won worth of low-interest loans to the suppliers of HD Hyundai.

K-SURE, HD Hyundai and Hana Bank held a cooperation agreement signing ceremony for the special program Friday in the southeastern city of Ulsan, home to major shipbuilding companies.