Creditors of STX Offshore & Shipbuilding agreed Thursday to provide the ailing South Korean shipbuilder with 600 billion won (US$540 million) in emergency loans, the main creditor bank said.

   STX Offshore, the shipbuilding unit of STX Group, a South Korean shipping and shipbuilding conglomerate, has been suffering a credit crunch as demand for new ships has fallen sharply in the past few years.

   A senior official at Korea Development Bank (KDB), the main creditor, said that seven creditor banks agreed to provide emergency loans. Of 600 billion won, 150 billion won has already been provided and the rest will be provided from Friday through May 3, the official said.

   STX Offshore logged a net loss of 782 billion won on a consolidated basis last year, and suffered an operating loss of 403 billion won as well. Its debt reached 12.2 trillion won at the end of last year on a consolidated basis, up 500 billion won from a year earlier.

   STX Group has been seeking to sell some of its units and affiliates as part of efforts to secure cash, thus putting its balance sheet in good shape. Its shipping unit, STX Pan Ocean Co., is also on the selling list. (Yonhap)