The new chief of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. (DSME), Lee Sung-keun, has said that the company needs to secure more orders by gaining price competitiveness.
“What is urgent at this point is to secure more orders on the back of our price competitiveness,” Lee Sung-keun said in a message sent to all employees.
Sung-keun said the shipyard has to prepare for sudden changes in the business environment.
Lee was officially named the shipyard’s new president last week ahead of a planned merger with its large local rival, Hyundai Heavy Industries Co.
Earlier this month, Hyundai Heavy Industries signed a formal deal with the state-run Korea Development Bank (KDB) to buy its smaller local rival, Daewoo Shipbuilding, a deal that could create the world’s largest shipbuilding group with an approximate 20 percent market share.
If the takeover goes ahead on schedule, the South Korean shipbuilding industry is expected to be dominated by two major shipbuilders — Hyundai Heavy and Samsung Heavy Industries Co.
South Korean shipbuilders, once a cornerstone of the country’s economic growth and job creation, had been reeling from mounting losses in the past few years, caused by an industry-wide slump and a glut of vessels amid tough competition with Chinese rivals.
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