Philippines says close to sale of former Hanjin shipyard

HJ ShipBuilding & Construction Co

27/07/2021 10:39

MANILA, July 27 (Reuters) - Philippine creditors are close
to selling a strategically located but debt-laden shipyard north
of the capital Manila, government officials said on Tuesday,
with a North American company cited as being an investor in the
deal.
    Hanjin Philippines, a unit of South Korea's Hanjin Heavy
Industries & Construction Co Ltd  097230.KS , in 2019 defaulted
on $1.3 billion in loans, of which $900 million is owed to South
Korean banks and the rest to five Philippine lenders.
    Talks with investors were almost complete, presidential
spokesperson Harry Roque told a news conference.
    Hanjin Philippines' shipyard previously employed 20,000
workers in Subic Bay, which is considered an important asset
because of the its shelter, deep water and access to the South
China Sea. Until 1992, Subic was home to a U.S. navy base.
    In 2019, the government denied a report that it would bar
Chinese companies from bidding for the shipyard over national
security fears. 
    The shipyard could restart operations and welcome back
workers by the end of the year, Wilma Eisma, chairperson of the
Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority, told a news conference on
Tuesday.
    "Bottomline is, we are back in business," Eisma said, adding
that the white knight was a North American firm without naming
it.
    In 2019, Australian shipbuilder Austal Ltd  ASB.AX  and U.S.
private equity firm Cerberus  CBS.UL  were considering a joint
bid for the facility.
    "I assume it is the same group last year that is involved
because I was not informed by Hanjin of another white knight,"
receivership lawyer Rosario Bernaldo told Reuters.
    Cerberus did not immediately respond to a request for
comment.
    "Due to confidentially agreements we can't name the shipyard
we are looking at, or our potential business partners," Austal
said in a statement on Tuesday. Austal's strategy is to move
into steel shipbuilding, including in Asia.

 (Reporting by Neil Jerome Morales
Editing by Ed Davies)
 ((neiljerome.morales@thomsonreuters.com; +632 8841 8914;))