HD Hyundai rose sharply early on the 27th. Buying appears to be piling in on news that HD Hyundai has joined hands with Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (HII) to co-build the U.S. Navy's next-generation logistics support ships.
As of 9:14 a.m. that day, HD Hyundai was trading at 202,500 won, up 20,900 won (11.51%) from the previous session. It climbed to 230,000 won intraday, hitting a 1-year high.
HD Hyundai said on the 26th that in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang, where the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit will be held, it signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) on cooperation in the design and construction of merchant and naval vessels with Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (HII).
Until now, while a Korean company had taken on maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) for U.S. logistics support ships, it had not participated in building new vessels. Among Korean shipyards, HD Hyundai is the first to take on construction of a U.S. Navy ship.
For now, overseas construction of U.S. warships is blocked by U.S. regulations, but the U.S. Congress has recently been pushing to amend the law to allow construction to be entrusted to allies such as Korea.
Ju Won-ho, head of the special ship division at HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, said, "This MOA is a practical example of cooperation between Korea and the United States' leading defense shipbuilding companies, including joint participation in projects ordered by the U.S. Navy and investment to secure a production base for ships in the United States," adding, "We are confident that Korea's advanced shipbuilding technology and the U.S. defense market's competitiveness will create powerful synergy."