S. Korean shipbuilders overtaken by Chinese rivals last year

SEOUL, Jan. 12 (Yonhap) -- South Korean shipbuilders were outpaced by their
Chinese rivals in the number of new orders received last year and order backlogs,
a London-based market researcher said Tuesday.

Korean shipbuilders such as Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. and Samsung Heavy
Industries Co. won a combined 3.15 million compensated gross tons (CGTs) in new
orders last year, accounting for 40.1 percent of all new global orders, said
Clarkson Plc.
New orders at Chinese shipyards totaled 3.49 million CGTs during the cited
period, accounting for 44.4 percent of the total, Clarkson said.
Market watchers said Chinese shipbuilders have gobbled up new orders at cheap
prices, while South Korean shipbuilders have continued to focus on high-priced
vessels and offshore facilities.
South Korea, home to seven of the world's top 10 shipyards, has clinched
record-high orders in the past few years on strong demand for crude carriers and
offshore exploration equipment amid lofty oil prices.
But orders for new vessels have sunk since the third quarter of 2008, as the
credit crisis and the subsequent global recession prodded companies to postpone
delivery dates or cancel orders.
South Korea also yielded the top position to China in the global shipbuilding
industry in terms of order backlogs, according to the researcher.
South Korean shipbuilders' combined order backlogs totaled 52.83 million CGTs as
of early January, compared with Chinese rivals' 53.22 million CGTs, it said.
sam@yna.co.kr
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