Comment / Snapshot: HMM’s largest shareholder, KDB, confirms stake is for sale

Photo 191644462 © Serhii Yevdokymov | Dreamstime.com

Five years after saving South Korea’s HMM from the brink with a debt-for-equity swap, Korea Development Bank says it will unload its stake in Korea’s flagship liner operator.

KDB chairman Lee Dong-gull disclosed the planned sale at a press conference yesterday to mark the fourth anniversary of his inauguration.

In 2016, HMM was facing bankruptcy after years of losses and, as part of its self-rescue plan, the carrier renegotiated its long-term vessel charter contracts, reducing charter rates by as much as 21%.

KDB, ...