Bondholders Extend Hanjin Shippings Debt Maturity

Hanjin Shipping Financially-troubled South Korean container shipping company Hanjin Shipping has received a helping hand as the companys bondholders reached an agreement to extend the maturity of its debts by four months, the company said in a stock exchange filing. Namely, during a meeting held yesterday, the bondholders approved the companys proposal to roll over some KRW 35.8 billion (USD 30 million) in bonds, due next week, the Korea Herald reported. Earlier in May, the company received an approval from its creditors for its voluntary restructuring proceedings after it submitted a formal request to restructure its debt with its seven lenders, led by state-run Korea Development Bank, on April 29. The extension follows the formation of the latest containership alliance, THE Alliance, which consists of Hanjin, Hapag-Lloyd, “K”Line, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Nippon Yusen Kaisha and Yang Ming. THE Alliance, expected to cover all East-West trade lanes, is scheduled to begin operation in April 2017 subject to approval of all relevant regulatory authorities. Hanjin, having collected some USD 4.39 billion in debt, is looking to normalize operations and boosting liquidity as it decided to dispose of certain overseas terminals, assets, as well as treasury stocks. World Maritime News Staff