South Korean shipbuilders surge on giant Qatar LNG deal

Shares of South Korean shipbuilders surged on Tuesday following a landmark deal for Qatari liquefied natural gas carriers.

LNG producing giant Qatar Petroleum said on Monday it signed deals with South Korea’s biggest three shipbuilders to secure more than 100 vessels worth about $19.2 billion.

This is the largest shipbuilding deal in the history of the LNG industry whereas QP secured about 60 per cent of the global LNG shipbuilding capacity through 2027.

Boosted by the big announcement, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering shares on Tuesday shot up 14.41 percent while Samsung Heavy shares rose 18.27 per cent.

Shares of Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering that owns Hyundai Heavy increased by 6.40 per cent.

These orders are a huge boost for the trio as the shipbuilding industry has been significantly affected by the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic.

The three shipbuilders saw a significant decline in their order books this year due to owners holding back on orders as global energy demand nosedived and oil prices hit record lows.

Korean shipyards are the biggest builders of LNG carriers winning more than 90 percent of carrier orders in 2019.

They also secured the entire order for 53 LNG carriers from Qatar back in 2004.

Breakdown of the newest order by shipbuilder is yet to be seen as QP did not reveal this info in its announcement.