Hyundai Merchant Marine lost ground on Korea’s main bourse Monday, as trading in shares of the ailing container carrier resumed after a sharp capital decrease.
HMM stocks closed at 13,900 won ($11.92) per share, 3.8 percent lower than the opening price of 14,450 won, against the benchmark KOSPI index‘s 0.45 decline. Trading had been halted since April 20 as the company undertook share consolidation in a ratio of 7:1, merging every seven shares into one new share. The measure subsequently reduced the heavily indebted firm’s total capital by 86 percent to 173.2 billion won.
HMM, part of Hyundai Group, is currently under a debt-restructuring program led by creditor banks including state-run Korea Development Bank.
By Lee Sun-young (milaya@heraldcorp.com)