Hanwha Ocean Geoje Business Site. /Courtesy of Hanwha Ocean

The shipbuilding industry continues to strengthen. With a sufficient backlog of orders (work), it appears that many investors are anticipating cooperation ahead of Donald Trump's second administration.

Hanwha Engine shares were trading at 23,850 won on the KOSPI market at 9:19 a.m. on the 14th. The stock rose 4.84% ($1,100) from the previous day. Early in the session, the stock price climbed to 24,550 won, setting a new all-time high.

Hanwha Ocean and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries stocks are also on the rise. At the beginning of the day, they jumped to 47,400 won and 319,500 won, respectively, setting new all-time highs.

Expectations of earnings support the stock prices. According to the financial information company FnGuide, domestic securities firms are predicting an average operating profit of 1.2281 trillion won for HD Hyundai Heavy Industries this year. The forecasts for operating profit this year for Samsung Heavy Industries and Hanwha Ocean are 779.5 billion won and 577.8 billion won, respectively.

The domestic shipbuilding industry's competitiveness in the high-demand liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier market is likely to be robust this year. With Russian natural gas supplies cut off and the United States actively exporting LNG, more LNG carriers will be needed.

In particular, the opinion expressed by President-elect Donald Trump regarding hopes for cooperation with the domestic shipbuilding industry is bolstering investor sentiment. At a recent meeting among the CEOs of the three shipbuilding companies in the HD Hyundai Group, it was conveyed that there is a possibility of constructing U.S. warships.