Hyundai Merchant shares jump most on asset sale plan

[SEOUL] Hyundai Merchant Marine Co, South Korea's second-largest sea cargo carrier, led gains among shares of Hyundai Group companies after the conglomerate said that it plans to sell assets to raise 3.3 trillion won (S$3.9 billion).

Hyundai Group, with businesses from shipping to stock broking, will sell Hyundai Securities Co, two other financial units, and a hotel to raise as much as 1.3 trillion won, it said in an e-mail on Sunday. Hyundai Merchant plans to raise about 1.5 trillion won selling stakes in container terminals and restructuring its bulk-cargo operations, the group said.

Shares of Hyundai Merchant jumped the most in more than six months in Seoul trading as Hyundai Group followed Hanjin Group, which owns Korean Air Lines Co, in announcing plans to sell assets to boost cash. South Korea's three biggest shipping companies face a cash crunch as three trillion won of bonds are due for repayment in the next two years amid mounting losses from a global slump in rates to carry sea cargo.