HONG KONG—Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., the world’s largest shipbuilder, said it may make an initial public offering of shares in Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries Co., aiming to benefit from the unit’s orderbook of more than three years.

The listing of Hyundai Samho, 94.9-percent owned by Hyundai Heavy, will depend on the company and market conditions, Park Zoon Soo, a spokesman at Ulsan, South Korea-based Hyundai Heavy, said Monday. Details, including the time and size of the sale, have yet to be decided, he said.

Shipyards in South Korea, the world’s largest shipbuilding nation, are expanding capacity as they work through almost four years of backlog after winning almost half of the record $187.3 billion of global orders in 2007.

Youngam, South Korea-based Hyundai Samho is the world’s sixth-largest shipyard, building all types of vessels, including those that can carry containers and oil. Hyundai Heavy bought the company in 2002 from creditors. Hyundai Heavy’s other unit, Hyundai Mipo Dockyard Co., the world’s fourth-largest shipyard, focuses on building mid-sized vessels.

Hyundai Samho operates two dry docks in Youngam, south of Seoul. It will start building vessels on land and at its first floating dock, helping to increase sales this year by about 27 percent to 3.3 trillion won ($3.5 billion). The company aims to win $7 billion in orders this year, after receiving a record $7.5 billion in 2007.

Shipowners spent $187.3 billion last year for new vessels, 51 percent more than in 2006, according to London-based Clarkson Plc., the world’s largest ship broker.

South Korea’s benchmark Kospi index has fallen 13 percent this year amid concerns that a possible recession in the US and the subprime- mortgage crisis will undermine the country’s economy.

Hyundai Heavy dropped 5.2 percent to 330,500 won as of 10:58 a.m. in Seoul. The stock has more than doubled in the past 12 months, the second-biggest gainer among the 50 largest companies traded on South Korea’s Kospi index. (Bloomberg)

Harder approval for cuts in port-usage fees

EXPORTERS may find it more difficult to convince the government to extend wharfage discounts for goods sold abroad after a port body was ordered to course such requests to the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC).

THE Bureau of Customs (BOC) has credited a Japanese aid agency for giving it the capacity to undertake postentry audits of all goods that pass through Philippine ports.

CEBU-BASED Cokaliong Shipping Lines Inc. said it would acquire a new vessel this year to expand its domestic missionary routes in Visayas and Mindanao.

SYDNEY—Coal prices rose to a record for a third straight week at Australia’s Newcastle port, a benchmark for Asia, as snowstorms in China cut exports, adding to supply disruptions in Australia and South Africa.

HONG KONG—Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., the world’s largest shipbuilder, said it may make an initial public offering of shares in Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries Co., aiming to benefit from the unit’s orderbook of more than three years.

SINGAPORE—Courage Marine Group Ltd., a Singapore-listed shipping company, won a contract to transport coal from Indonesia to China, where the worst snowstorms in 50 years have disrupted supplies.