Hanwha Ocean shares, which had plunged on concerns over China's regulation of South Korea–U.S. shipbuilding cooperation, were rebounding on the morning of the 15th. This came as analysts in the securities industry said China's sanctions would have limited impact on Korea's shipbuilding sector.
As of 9:25 a.m. on the 15th, Hanwha Ocean was trading at 106,300 won on the main bourse, up 3,200 won (3.1%) from the previous session. Other shipbuilding stocks such as HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (0.81%) and Samsung Heavy Industries (0.24%) were also rising.
Hanwha Ocean shares fell more than 5% the previous day. China's Ministry of Commerce claimed that Hanwha Ocean's subsidiaries supported and backed the U.S. Section 301 investigation, threatening China's sovereignty, security, and development interests, and announced sanctions against them.
On the day, Jeong Dong-ik, an analyst at KB Securities, said, "We judge that the impact of China's latest sanctions on Hanwha Group or Korea's shipbuilding industry will be minimal," adding, "Among the five sanctioned companies, the ones with actual business operations are Hanwha Shipping and the Hanwha Phil. shipyard, and they have no human or material ties with China."
Kim Yong-min, an analyst at Yuanta Securities Korea, offered a positive view, saying, "If these sanctions lead to an expansion of shipbuilding and shipping disputes in the U.S.–China bipolar framework, domestic shipbuilders would instead take on the role of the United States' agent and stand to benefit."