October 1, 2020 | International, Naval
Jon Grevatt
Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction (HHIC) – one of South Korea's most prominent naval shipbuilders – has announced that the state-owned Korea Development Bank (KDB), its main creditor and largest shareholder, is looking to sell its stake in the company.
HHIC, based in Busan, said in a filing to the South Korean stock exchange on 29 September that the KDB has invited bidders to acquire all or part of its 83.45% stake in HHIC, with the aim to finalise a preliminary bidding phase by the end of October.
The stake in its entirety is expected to be worth around USD430 million.
In a separate statement, the KDB said it plans to sell at least 63.44% of its shareholding in HHIC and to decide on whether to divest the remaining stake before the end of final bidding. It added that its shareholding in HHIC is split across several financial institutions including the KDB itself. Institutions in the Philippines are also shareholders in the company, said the KDB.
HHIC has been facing severe economic pressure for several years: a result mainly of a downturn in sales in commercial shipbuilding and construction sectors.
In fiscal year 2018, the company's sales increased year-on-year by 3% to KRW1.69 trillion (USD1.44 billion). However, HHIC's losses expanded from KRW278 billion in 2017 to KRW1.32 trillion in 2018. While no HHIC sales figures for the defence sector are available, these are expected to have remained relatively strong.
https://www.janes.com/defence-news/news-detail/south-koreas-hanjin-up-for-sale_12630
May 30, 2023 | International, C4ISR
North Korea will launch its first military reconnaissance satellite in June for monitoring U.S. activities, state media KCNA reported on Tuesday, drawing criticism over its potential use of banned missile technology.
August 31, 2018 | International, Land
By: Todd South After more than 40 years of service, the robust little all-terrain vehicle that can climb mountains, ford rivers and churn through snow needs replacing. And the Army, Marines and National Guard are asking industry to give them a new ride. Back in June, Army Contracting Command officials put out a Request for Information for industry to share what they think can replace the Small Unit Support Vehicle, a tracked vehicle that's been in service since the mid-1970s. At one point, there were 1,100 of them in the U.S. military inventory. Now, only a few dozen remain, mostly in service in cold weather areas such as U.S. Army Alaska. The new program to replace the SUSV has been dubbed the “Joint All Weather All Terrain Support Vehicle," or JAASV. So far, Army officials have only asked for information, but they are expected to issue a proposal with more detailed requests for requirements and timelines from industry in the coming weeks or months. The upgrade and replacement are important for a variety of reasons, some of which are near-term, such as National Guard disaster response to blizzards, floods and fires, which can't be navigated easily by the current Humvee fleet. Others are for mobility in the Arctic. Leaders are shifting training and resources back to the Arctic as Russia has beefed up its capabilities and manpower in the region in recent years, from new units and commands to upgraded equipment and weaponry. BAE Systems built the original SUSV, or Bv206, and has since built a modernized version called the BvS10 in both armored and unarmored types. The newer model has been fielded to military units in the United Kingdom, Norway, France and the Netherlands. It has seen real-world operations in Afghanistan and the Balkans on NATO missions, according to company officials. Last year, ST Kinetics unveiled its own version of a small, all-terrain tracked vehicle, called the Bronco 3, at DESI, a defense conference in London, England, according to Army Times sister publication Defense News. Full article: https://www.armytimes.com/news/your-army/2018/08/30/the-army-is-looking-for-a-new-all-around-vehicle-that-can-swim-climb-and-charge-through-snow
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