Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the G20 Summit, Minister Yoo Il-ho said the company and its creditors can discuss with the court ways to raise money under the condition that Hanjin takes full responsibility for unpaid port fees.
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The government said it will also make efforts to provide food and water to the stranded Hanjin ships, while requesting other countries refrain from seizing Hanjin’s assets.
As Hanjin Shipping (117930.Korea) tries to prevent its ships, which reportedly carry .5 billion worth of cargoes, from being seized at ports around the world, the Korean container shipper’s creditors are talking about a funding rescue again.
Shares in South Korea’s foundering shipping giant Hanjin were volatile on Monday (Sep 5) after filing for bankruptcy protection in Seoul and reportedly the U.S., sinking the maritime freight industry deeper into crisis. Korea’s Financial Supervisory Commission said 79 of Hanjin’s vessels, including 61 container ships, have had their operations disrupted.
The company also filed for bankruptcy protection in the US Friday to protect its vessels from being seized by creditors, the Wall Street Journal reported. Hanjin said last week that one ship had been seized by its owner in Singapore.
Hanjin’s shares jumped 20 percent on Tuesday on hopes for government help for the company, after falling 13.7 percent on Monday.
Hanjin, the country’s largest ocean container shipper, will seek bankruptcy protection in 43 countries, including Canada, Germany and Britain, FSC officials said.
Hanjin has struggled for years as it failed to recover from the impact of the 2008 global financial crisis. Yim Jong-yong, the Financial Services Commission’s chairman, pushed Hanjin to urgently resolve problems over freight stranded at sea, urging its major shareholders and Cho Yang-ho, chairman of Hanjin Group and Korean Air Lines, to take responsibility. “Given the mutual interests, Hanjin may as well seek the support of large clients”.
Hanjin Shipping’s shareholders cheered nonetheless at this young array of light, sending its stock up 19.6% and nearly recuperating from Monday’s 24% tumble. “But in the view of many experts, that possibility is low”, the Yonhap News Agency quoted Yim as saying.
Shares recovered to be traded 1.6 per cent lower at 1,220 won ($1.1) early Monday afternoon – but still 36 per cent lower from last month and almost 80 per cent lower from a year ago.
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