Seoul-listed DSME put forward the plans just 24 hours after hanging a for sale board above its corporate headquarters and golf course as it looked to sell off all its non-core assets.
The shipbuilder told investors today a review to downsize its Daewoo Mangalia business would be undertaken independently of the asset disposals.
Brokers counts 24 newbuildings under construction at Daewoo Mangalia for a string of big name shipowners.
Greek owner Tsakos is the largest client with nine of those ships.
John Angelicoussis has four suezmaxes at the yard. Scorpio has both bulkers and tankers in the book, while Eastern Mediterranean Maritime and Capital complete the client list.
However, data from EA Gibson shows the yard has not received any fresh business since January this year.
Few details were released about the Chinese business which will may be cashed in but a spokesperson for DSME yesterday told Reuters that job losses were off the agenda as part of the group overhaul. Executive pay, however, is coming down.
Analysts told TradeWinds yesterday the corporate headquarters would provide the largest injection of cash for the company, which booked a huge operating loss in the second quarter.
Shipyard doctor Jung Sung-leep is now in command of DSME, into which leading shareholder Korea Development Bank is reported to have injected KRW 1 trillion ($1.7bn) this summer.
“These moves will bring in some cash and also eliminate the possibility of additional losses from the businesses that Daewoo is getting out of," Kim Hyun, an analyst at brokerage Shinhan Investment, told Reuters.
