HHI officially applies for IPO

A liquefied natural gas carrier built by Hyundai Heavy Industries. [KOREA SHIPBUILDING & OFFSHORE ENGINEERING]

Hyundai Heavy Industries applied for an initial public offering (IPO) to raise up to 1.08 trillion won ($934 million).

The shipbuilder submitted a securities registration statement to the Financial Services Commission on Tuesday. According to the statement, the company will offer 18 million newly issued shares at a price between 52,000 won and 60,000 won.

The company hopes to use the money to develop eco-friendly technologies such as building ships that run on ammonia and hydrogen and developing offshore hydrogen production facilities. It will also invest in developing self-sailing technology and its own cargo containment system.

Having a competitive edge in so-called green shipbuilding is key to the future for shipbuilders, the company said in a statement Wednesday.

Bookbuilding will be held on Sept. 2 and Sept. 3. Public subscriptions will follow on Sept. 7 and Sept. 8. The company hopes to list in September.

Mirae Asset Securities, Korea Investment & Securities and Credit Suisse are the main underwriters for the listing.

This won't be the first time the company has been listed on the local stock market. Until 2019, Hyundai Heavy Industries was traded on the Kospi. In 2019, it changed its name to Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (KSOE) and split into an operating company, which took the name Hyundai Heavy Industries, and an intermediate holding company, KSOE.

Those decisions were part of the acquisition of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering. The acquisition still needs approval from overseas antitrust regulators to be completed.

Since then KSOE has been traded on the stock market, and Hyundai Heavy Industries became a wholly-owned subsidiary of KSOE.

Last year, Hyundai Heavy Industries posted a net loss of 431.5 billion won. In the first half of this year, its net loss was 345.1 billion won according to its corporate filing Tuesday.

While the shipbuilder has won orders to build 50 ships worth $7.25 billion in the first half of this year, these orders will not generate earnings until the ships are delivered to customers a year or two later. The rising price of steel plates has also negatively affected the shipbuider's earnings.

BY KIM JEE-HEE [kim.jeehee@joongang.co.kr]