Tan Hua Joo, an analyst for Alphaliner, has blamed the Hanjin collapse on political mistakes perpetrated by the South Korean government, reported Lloyds List.
Mr Tan made an announcement in front of industry leaders that the South Korean the decision by the government to favour Hyundai Merchant Marine over Hanjin, allowing the latter to fail, was “a case of political blundering and ego prevailing over economic common sense”; this was agreed by many of those in attendance.
He added that Hanjin was a superior line both financially and in its global brand, and to have allowed it to go under whilst supporting Hyundai Merchant Marine “makes no sense whatsoever”.
Mr Tan also said: “Politics continue to drive developments in the industry and it will only serve to prolong the downturn we are seeing in the market.” He forewarned that Hyundai Merchant Marine was alongside Hamburg Sud, OOCL, Yang Ming and ZIM as the “most at risk” companies in the current market.
Hyundai Merchant Marine is currently encountering the same economic issues that were seen with Hanjin in the months leading up to its collapse; a self-rescue plan is vital for it to gain support from its creditors for debt restructuring.
Hyundai applied for membership to the 2M alliance, alongside Maersk and MSC; mergers are popular in this industry in the current economic climate as an aid to losses and/or debts, the application was denied.
