Korea Ocean Business Corp. (KOBC) had a meeting with container shipping company CEOs at Kensington Hotel in Yeouido, Seoul, on March 31.
The meeting was designed to listen to field grievances and complaints the container shipping industry experiences amid rising uncertainties, such as declining of container shipping rates to pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels, ship supply glut and strengthening of environment restrictions and jointly discuss ways of coping with them.
KOBC has held such meetings every year to lend an ear to field voices. During the latest meeting, the corporation presented the current status of the container shipping market and outlooks, its major policy projects, the current status of implementing a Korean-type new ship ownership project, raising and operating a crisis response fund, the current status of supporting a container box lease project, and the pending major issues related to port infrastructure.
The meeting also had a question & answer session with the participating CEOs and free discussions on ways of ramping up competitiveness.
KOBC President Kim Yang-soo said, “The meeting was a meaningful opportunity from the public and the private sectors to expand the businesses related to the container sector and explore ways of promoting cooperation, and we will continue to raise the competitiveness of Korean container shipping companies by fully reflecting field voices down the road.”
KOBC Retains Credit Rating ‘AA-’
Korea Ocean Business Corp. (KOBC) received its credit rating “AA-,” equivalent to that of the sovereign credit rating of Korea, from the international credit rating Fitch Ratings, the corporation said on March 31.
Fitch’s evaluation of KOBC’s Long-Term Foreign-and Local-Currency Issuer Default Ratings cited KOBC’s executing differentiated financing and guarantee duties in the interest of the shipping industry with high volatility and the government’s high likelihood of exceptional government support for the entity in case of emergency.
KOBC’s having retained its credit rating, equivalent to that of the sovereign credit rating of Korea from an international credit ratings agency since 2021 may be construed for rating highly the corporation’s roles to raise the competitiveness of the shipping industry, such as offering liquidity support to shipping companies and providing shipping financial support.
Meanwhile, KOBC issued ESG bonds worth 150 billion won to raise a fund to offer shipping financial support to flag-carrier shipping companies last year.
The fund has been used to introduce eco-friendly ships and help shipping companies overcome damage, caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
President Kim Yang-soo of Korea Ocean Business Corp. and Sung Nak-joo , KOBC’s division head, pose with SME shipping company CEOs during their meeting at Glad Hotel in Yeouido, Seoul, on March 28. (Photos: KOBC)
KOBC holds Meeting with SME Shipping Company CEOs
Korea Ocean Business Corp. (KOBC) had a meeting with SME shipping company CEOs at Glad Hotel in Yeouido, Seoul, on March 28.
The meeting was an opportunity for KOBC to introduce programs to support SME shipping companies and listen to the grievances and complaints they experience and reflect them into its future business plans.
Lawyer Lee Sang-hyup with the law firm Kim & Jang gave a lecture on the act on the punishment of serious industrial disasters and SME shipping companies’ ways of coping with it.
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