HD Hyundai eyes USD 2 bn shipyard in India: South Korea’s shipbuilding giant HD Hyundai inked an agreement with the Indian government to establish a USD 2 bn shipyard at Madurai in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, Splash247 reports. The agreement comes a few weeks after the Indian government announced a c. USD 7.8 bn investment package to boost its shipbuilding and maritime sector.

Not the first sign of maritime amity: HD Hyundai signed an MoU last July with India’s state-owned Cochin Shipyard — the subcontinent’s largest public sector yard — to kick off collaboration in areas including design and procurement support, productivity enhancement, and human capital development.

REMEMBER- India wants to become among the top 10 shipbuilding powers by 2030, and among the top five by 2047. Currently, India accounts for less than 1% of the sector’s global market.

Where should India start? New Delhi could start its shipbuilding push by specializing in building vessels of lower value, as Chinese shipyards zero in on more complicated tonnage, Lloyd’s List reported earlier this year. By focusing on general cargo carriers — an old fleet with high replacement demand — India can step in, as Beijing’s shipyards lose interest in smaller, lower-value tonnage.

German shipping giant Hapag-Lloyd (HL) joined a line-up of bidders vying for the acquisition of Israel’s largest container carrier ZIM, Israeli business news outlet Globes reported. The offer is at a preliminary stage, and formal negotiations have not yet begun, the news outlet added.

But the bid turned heads in Israel due to Saudi and Qatari ownership in HL. “An acquisition of ZIM by Hapag-Lloyd… represents a direct danger to the security of the country,” ZIM workers Committee Chairperson Oren Ksafim told Globes. Saudi’s PIF and Qatar Holding together own a combined stake of 22.5% in the German shipping firm.

Who else is in the mix? Other global shipping majors are already in the mix, with Maersk and MSC Mediterranean Shipping also expressing interest in the Israeli player. The competition to snap up ZIM comes after the board decided to accept acquisition bids following an offer filed by ZIM’s CEO of eight years, Eli Glickman, in partnership with Israeli investor Rami Ungar, the news outlet said.

ZIM has a current market cap of USD 2.4 bn, and most analysts following the shippers’ stocks view its stock as overvalued — with three out of the seven observing analysts recommending selling its stocks, three recommending to hold, and just one recommending to buy, Globes reported, citing The Wall Street Journal.

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