Hanjin Shipping declared bankrupt

AFP, SEOUL:  The axe finally fell on South Korea’s once-mighty Hanjin Shipping yesterday as a Seoul court declared it bankrupt after struggling for years under the weight of billions of dollars-worth of debt.
Hanjin filed for bankruptcy protection in August owing $5.37 billion as creditors refused to bail it out, with dozens of its vessels stranded outside around the world as they were refused entry to ports.
An accounting firm hired by the Seoul court concluded earlier this month that the firm’s liquidation value would be greater than its worth as a going concern.
The firm, which was once South Korea’s biggest shipping firm and the seventh-largest in the world, has since been forced to sell most its assets at home and abroad to pay off debts, with most of its 1,500 workers laid off.
“We will try to ensure that the bankruptcy process would enable the firm to pay off debts to all debt-holders in a fair and proper fashion,” the court said in a statement.

Hanjin Shipping declared bankrupt

AFP, SEOUL: The axe finally fell on South Koreas once-mighty Hanjin Shipping yesterday as a Seoul court declared it bankrupt after struggling for years under the weight of billions of dollars-worth of debt. Hanjin filed for bankruptcy protection in August owing $5.37 billion as creditors refused to bail it out, with dozens of its vessels stranded outside around the world as they were refused entry to ports. An accounting firm hired by the Seoul court concluded earlier this month that the firms liquidation value would be greater than its worth as a going concern. The firm, which was once South Koreas biggest shipping firm and the seventh-largest in the world, has since been forced to sell most its assets at home and abroad to pay off debts, with most of its 1,500 workers laid off. We will try to ensure that the bankruptcy process would enable the firm to pay off debts to all debt-holders in a fair and proper fashion, the court said in a statement.