HD Hyundai Group Chairman Chung Kisun has met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss expanding bilateral cooperation, as the South Korean shipbuilder iseeks to build a shipyard in India and deepens its partnership with the country’s largest shipmaker.
HD Hyundai Co. said on Thursday that Chung and Kim Hyung-kwan, chief executive of HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co. (KSOE), have requested policy support for the proposed shipyard project and its business in India during the Global Energy Leaders Roundtable at the prime minister’s residence on Jan. 28.
“India is a core pillar of our strategy to diversify overseas production bases, and we are confident it will become a new engine of growth for the group,” Chung said during the meeting.
The company has been accelerating its push into India’s maritime sector as the Indian government steps up efforts to strengthen domestic shipbuilding and port infrastructure under its long-term Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047 initiative.
Last month, HD Hyundai signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Tamil Nadu government to examine the feasibility of constructing a shipyard in the southern Indian state.
In July last year, the company also signed an MOU with India’s largest state-run shipbuilder, Cochin Shipyard Ltd., to collaborate across ship design, procurement, technology and workforce training.
Recently, the two companies broadened their cooperation to include naval vessels as HD Hyundai seeks to enter the US battleship market.
Cochin Shipyard, which is 67.91% Indian government-owned, has delivered 70 vessels including commercial ships and naval vessels, over the past five years.
In November last year and again in January, Hardeep Singh Puri, India’s minister for petroleum and natural gas, and T. R. B Rajaa, minister for industries of Tamil Nadu, toured HD Hyundai’s flagship shipyard in Ulsan, South Korea.
Source: The Korea Economic Daily