Rumours grow on Hyundai Merchant Marine takeover by Maersk

From the Korea Times comes this analysis of the speculation that Hyundai’s bid to join the 2M shipping alliance of Maersk and MSC is a prelude to a takeover of the South Korean carrier by Maersk. This theory was first postulated by Drewry, but has been strongly rejected by a government that has worked so hard to save the company from bankruptcy. “The government wouldn’t have struggled this much for restructuring if we wanted to sell HMM abroad. I believe Maersk and MSC expect HMM to play a role under the 2M alliance structure in the Asia-America route,” ocean and fishery minister Kim Young-suk told the newspaper.