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Korea Report - March, 2016.

In the current global shipbuilding and offshore industry, commercial ship orders have actually been on hiatus against a backdrop of the demand reduction along with fleet over-supply phenomenon resulting from global economic recession. In addition, offshore plant orders have been nonexistent due to a dip in oil price. It turns out, Korea’s main shipbuilders were confronted with ‘order draught’ in the first quarter of 2016. However, they do not feel like to rush for orders, as it is not the time to rush but wait.

TOPICS.

UN pointed out it insufficient to deal women’s rights issue in Japan for sex slavery (p.2)

Go match between Lee and AlphaGo has sparked a great deal of interest in AI (p.3)

Korean engineers and scientists are poised to leap into space (p.4)

K-drama series “Descendants of the Sun” has become “an unexpected blue chip” (p.5)

NK’s saber-rattling continued with shooting rockets against UN sanction (p.5)

UN sanction against NK strengthened with separate ones from SKorea, USA and China (p.6)

SKorea and USA kicked off their largest-ever annual joint military exercises (p.7)

KDI said Korean economy has entered a slowdown mode (p.8)

FDI in Korea reached record annual high of $20.91 bil in 2015 (p.10)

China's exports plunged 25.4% on-year in Feb to $126.1 bil (p.11)

SKorea has become the third-largest M&A market in Asia (p.11)

Samsung Group now ranks third in the world in terms of brand value (p.12)

Lotte Group founder Shin Kyuk-ho was replaced from the board room (p.14)

Doosan Group become first Korean corporate dynasty led by a fourth-generation heir (p.14)

KOSPI reached 2,000, while foreign buyers drove market rally (p.16)

KWon strengthened from 1,227 to 1,150 against USDollar (p.16)

Korea’s shipbuilders confronted with ‘order draught’ but wait instead of rush for orders (p.18)

DSME corrected its account for 2013 to find another loss, struggling for proper restructuring (p.19)

SM Group signed MOU to take over SPP Shipbuilding (p.20)

HMM’s chairwoman Hyun Jeong-eun decided to step down (p.21)

Pan Ocean signed a long term COA with Vale (p.22)