Hanjin: Final curtain falls on shipping 

saga 
By Andreas Illmer​BBC News 
● 17 February 2017
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Hanjin Shipping used to be one of the world's top 10 shipping companies. But now, the final
curtain has fallen.

This Friday, the firm was declared bankrupt by a South Korean court after months of uncertainty.

Hanjin's collapse is the largest to hit the shipping sector and it sent shockwaves through the industry.

What went wrong?

For years, the global economic downturn had affected profits across the cargo shipping industry. It
led to overcapacity, lower freight rates and rising debt levels.

The question was not whether a big shipping line would go under, but which one would be first. The
questionable honour eventually fell to Hanjin, at that time South Korea's biggest shipper and number
seven in the world.

Crippled with $5.4bn (£4.1bn) in debt in August 2016, the company failed to get any more money
from its creditors. ​Hanjin went into receivership​ and applied for court protection.
Image copyright​AFP​Image caption​Hanjin was unprofitable for four of the last five years 

There was still a chance for an investor or the government to come to the rescue yet it quickly
became clear that any such hopes were futile.

"Stopping the credit line immediately results in an inability to purchase fuel, it immediately results in
vessels not being able to go to port and it immediately results in all customers going to the
competitors," explains Lars Jensen of Sea Intelligence Consulting.

What followed were long and painful months of sailors losing their jobs and investors losing their
money.

No chance for a rescue?

With Hanjin's situation suddenly in limbo, its ships were ​stranded at sea​. Most ports refused them
entry, fearing they would not get paid for loading and unloading the cargo. ​Some ships were
arrested​ while docking as debtors had issued warrants to get at least some of their money back.

Technically though, there still could have been a rescue - Hanjin needed to find an investor or
convince the government to step in.
Image caption​Many of Hanjin's assets have been sold off 

"There was likely a window of some 24 to 48 hours after the announcement where Hanjin could have
been saved, but after that it was simply a snowball effect and it was unrealistic to bring back the
company," says Mr Jensen.

The chaotic demise of the company's operations​ did little to shore up confidence. So over the
following months, many of the better assets got sold off - ranging from vessels to cargo terminals in
the US to its Asia-US route operations.

The buyers were other global shipping companies that were able to cherry pick what they wanted.
"All the good assets have been sold, the carcass has been thoroughly cleaned up," says Greg
Knowler, a maritime trade specialist at IHS.

After Friday's official bankruptcy, the court handling the liquidation process will proceed to sell off the
remaining assets and give the money to the creditors.

For the seamen, the collapse of their company meant that almost all of them lost their jobs. Hanjin's
ships had been crewed with South Korean officers and engineers and an international mix of
seamen hired through agencies.
Image copyright​MOON KWON-DO​Image caption​Hanjin staff tried hard to lobby support for their
cause 
One of those now unemployed is captain Moon Kwon-do, who last year was ​stuck for months on
the Hanjin Rome​ after it had been seized by creditors in the Singapore port.

"I will never sail again, I will abandon my life as a seaman," he says with bitterness and frustration.

Despite a lot of protests organised by unions, the government in Seoul did not step in to help. Yet
there's doubt that saving Hanjin would have worked.

"If you're shipping cargo anywhere in the world - would you have gone with Hanjin after that?" asks
Mr Knowler. The sudden suspension of all the company's vessels had led to supply chain disruptions
around the world.

"I don't think it could have been saved," he concludes.

What now?
In fact, ​as dramatic as it was for Hanjin​, for the rest of the industry the failure of one of the big
players might have been a lucky break.

"This was a long time coming, it's what was widely needed," says Mr Knowler. "So from this
perspective this was a good thing."

Hanjin's bankruptcy has a good chance of bringing global overcapacity in the sector down to a
sustainable level.
"Everyone will be seen to have had a hard time in 2016," says Mr Jensen. Fellow shipping giant
Maersk, for instance, earlier this month revealed a ​$1.9bn net loss for 2016​ - just its second annual
loss since World War Two.

Image copyright​REUTERS​Image caption​Last year was tough for the whole industry, with Danish
giant Maersk reporting a loss 

"2016 was the bottom of the market, but the climb upwards towards a more balanced market will
take two to three years to fully accomplish," says Mr Jensen.

Analysts agree that it is unlikely there will be another large carrier like Hanjin failing. South Korea is
now left with Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM) taking over as the country's biggest shipping
company.

And while last year HMM was in as much financial trouble as Hanjin, the collapse of its fellow
shipper means that it is now on a much safer footing, says Mr Knowler.

"There is absolutely zero chance that the Korean government will let another major shipping line -
now their only major line - fail."

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-38953144

 
   
Hanjin Philippines hit by world
shipping downturn, seeks
rehab: SBMA
ABS-CBN News
Posted at Jan 11 2019 10:57 AM

MANILA -- South Korean shipbuilder Hanjin is seeking court-assisted rehabilitation to be able to

pay off its debt, with demand hit by a slowdown in the global shipping industry, a Filipino official
said Friday.

Hanjin, which has $2.3 billion in assets and a 3,000-strong workforce, "remains to be an investor of
good standing," said Wilma Eisma, administrator of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority where the
shipbuilding facility is located.

Five Philippine banks are seeking to cover $412 million in combined loans to Hanjin. Eisma clarified
that the company had not defaulted on loan or interest payments.

"Malaki po ang assets, wala lang pong cash," Eisma told DZMM.

(They have huge assets, just not enough cash.)

"They are very forward-looking and they are very responsible. Ayaw nila maghintay na
magde-default sila kaya maaga pa lang, they want to come to the table with all the banks and with the
help of the court, magkaroon ng usapin paano nila unti-unti pang mababayaran ang pagkaka-utang
nila," she said.

(They are very forward-looking and they are very responsible. They don't want to wait for a default
that's why this early, they want to come to the table with all the banks and with the help of the court,
open discussions on how they can pay their debt.)
Hanjin Shipping's container terminal is seen at the Busan New Port in Busan southeast of Seoul. The
company's Philippine shipbuilding unit is seeking court-assisted rehabilitation to help it pay debt. ​Lee
Jae-Won, Reuters/File

Eisma said Hanjin Philippines was not hobbled by the debts of its parent. She said representatives
from the Department of Labor and Employment and the Department of Trade and Industry met
recently with Hanjin representatives in Subic.

"Ang Hanjin, hindi sila nawawalan ng pag-asa dahil nga po they are very proactive," she said.

(Hanjin is not losing hope, that's because they are very proactive.)

A "downturn" in global shipping has affected Hanjin, which builds ships with 6,000-container
capacity and those that could carry liquefied petroleum gas and liquefied natural gas, she said.

"Based sa pag-uusap namin, nangyari ito dahil sa worldwide downturn sa shipping industry. This is
something because of supply and demand," she said.

(Based on our discussions, this is happening because of the worldwide downturn in the shipping
industry. This is something because of supply and demand.)

At the peak of demand in 2014 and 2015, Hanjin employed up to 33,000 people, she said.

"Wala po tayong nadidinig na alingasngas na hindi sila nababayaran ng maayos," she said.
(We did not hear of complaints that employees were not being paid well.)

Former Hanjin workers are "very highly employable" because of their training, she said.

https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/01/11/19/hanjin-philippines-hit-by-world-shipping-downturn-
seeks-rehab-sbma 

 
A giant stumbles in Subic: Too 
big to fail? 
By
​Elijah Rosales​, ​Henry Empeño​, L
​ enie Lectura​, ​Sam Medenilla​, ​VG Cabuag
-
January 10, 2019

Hanjin Shipyard, located on the Redondo Peninsula, Subic Bay Freeport Zone, is seen 
from across the bay on Tuesday. The free port’s biggest investor and employer is seeking 
rehabilitation, under the weight of hundred of millions of dollars in loans to some of the 
country’s leading banks. 
 

THE full story of Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction Co.-Philippines 

(HHIC-Phil) Inc., once touted as the shining star of Subic Freeport and an inspiration to 
Philippine policy-makers who used it as part of their basis to list shipbuilding among the 
country’s most promising industries, will perhaps not be known anytime soon. 

It is a saga that raises numerous questions, chiefly: how could such a big 
operation—representing the biggest investment for Subic—suddenly fail, as to force 
lawyers of the Korean giant’s affiliate to rush to an Olongapo court on January 8 to seek 
relief from holders of its $400 million in debt to leading local banks? 

HHIC-Phil has invested $2.3 billion in the Subic Bay Freeport since beginning operations 
in 2007. The shipyard has delivered 123 ships from the shipyard in the past 11 years. 

 
 
Boxes of what appeared to contain documents for the filing of petition for corporate 
rehabilitation are seen at the Olongapo Regional Trial Court on Tuesday. 
It is listed as the biggest employer and, until last year, its website had been touting new 
orders from regional shipping lines. 

Was the Philippine economic climate part of the context for the collapse? The 
Department of Trade and Industry secretary, and the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority’s 
chief had both confirmed that the HHIC-Phil had enjoyed the incentives accorded to 
Freeport locators in the country, and more. 

It enjoyed, for instance, income-tax holiday and a P4-billion power subsidy that allowed 
it to access cheaper energy from the national grid for its humongous operations on the 
Redondo Peninsula, just across the bay from Subic’s main commercial district. 

And yet, as the BusinessMirror sought to unravel the mystery behind HHIC-Phil’s saga, 
it appeared that a confluence of problems—some self-inflicted, some possibly from the 
fallout of its own mother firm’s struggles in South Korea and others from the problems 
confronting the global shipping industry—had been hounding the company the past 
several years. 

For one, the incentives, especially the income-tax holiday and the power subsidy, had 
ended. Then, too, the company had been penalized with regulatory fines through the 
years for numerous violations of workplace safety standards, as inquiry after inquiry by 
both Congress and the DOLE focused on the deaths and injuries at the shipyard. 

Then, too, there was a local problem that coincided with the 2016 debacle of its mother 
firm in South Korea. HHIC-Phil’s agent, MOF, filed for voluntary liquidation, citing 
irreversible business difficulties. 

For all these, however, the financial problems that most impacted the giant shipbuilder 
and forced it to seek court relief arose mainly, it seems, from the payment system that 
afflicted most other big shipbuilders: a system that allowed buyers of ships to make huge 
payments only late into production, with the builders cobbling together loans to cover 
their operations. 
Ripples
THE ripples reached the corporate shores of HHIC-Phil on Tuesday, January 8, as it 
filed for corporate rehabilitation at the Olongapo Regional Trial Court, seeking 
protection from its creditors. 

This was stated in its “Application for rehabilitation, bankruptcy, etc. of principal debtor 
(guarantee) corporation” with the Korea Exchange (KRX). The company stated in 
Hangul its reason for application as: “Promote management normalization by applying 
for regeneration procedure.” 

HHIC-Phil, represented by Bong Hyun Soo, made the announcement “based on the fact 
that HHIC-Phil’s new repayment guarantee (R/G) issuance smoothly proceeded.” 

The company said “the total amount of guarantees and guarantees during the above 
warranty (guarantee) is [an] R/G balance as of January 8 of $85,199,038,” with the 
US$1=KRW1,119.50. 
“The application for commencement of the rehabilitation process is filed for 
rehabilitation proceedings in accordance with the Financial Rehabilitation and Insolvency 
Act of the Philippines and is similar to the corporate rehabilitation procedure under the 
Law on the Debtor’s Regeneration and Bankruptcy,” HHIC-Phil said. 

Company lawyers in Olongapo City declined to give details of the case but on Tuesday 
lugged 10 blue boxes that appeared to contain documents of the case as they entered the 
court’s premises at about 4:20 p.m. Court officials, however, declined interviews. 

The local Hanjin operations had laid off some 7,000 workers in December. Persons 
familiar with the matter said it plans to fire 3,000 more in the coming months, and retain 
some 300 workers that will maintain its factory located on the Redondo Peninsula, Subic 
Bay, Zambales. 

Labor displacements
Whatever the real reasons may have been that pushed HHIC-Phil to the Olongapo court 
on January 8, one thing is clear: the workers are collateral damage. 

Amid its ongoing financial crisis, Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction 
Co.-Philippines (HHICC-Phil) Inc. has started to lay off its contractual employees. 

Based on the latest report from DOLE-Region III, the Zambales-based shipbuilding firm 
retrenched at least 500 workers from one of its subcontractors. 

The DOLE also got reports of other subcontractors of HHICC-Phil, which are now 
seeking permission to reduce the number of work hours of their employees to cut their 
expenses. 

As of November 2018 HHICC-Phil had 22 registered subcontractors with a total of 

11,526 workers. 

DOLE is still consolidating its December 2018 report before it could determine the total 
number of displaced workers from HHICC-Phil as a result of its ongoing financial woes. 
The BusinessMirror earlier reported HHICC-Phil had already retrenched 7,000 workers 
in December 2018. 

According to Bureau of Local Employment (BLE) Director Dominique R. Tutay, Labor 

and Employment Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III instructed them to prepare possible 
interventions for the displaced workers of HHICC-Phil. 

“We would encourage workers affected to retool/reskill themselves to take advantage of 
the job opportunities from other sectors,” Tutay said. 

HHICC-Phil is currently one of the biggest employers in the province of Zambales. 

Tutay said the affected workers can look for alternative employment opportunities in the 
following sectors: construction,; administrative support and manufacturing, other than 
shipbuilding. 

Leading shipbuilder
In its JobsFit 2022 report, the DOLE noted that HHICC-Phil is among the companies 
which helped cement the country’s reputation as the fourth largest shipbuilding nation in 
2010. 

Citing studies from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Board of 
Investments, the report tagged shipbuilding and ship repair among the emerging 
industries in terms of job creation up to 2022. 

“Opportunities abound in the country’s shipyards which are now building ships like bulk 
carriers, containers ships, and big passenger ferries and repairs of ships. Job prospects 
include skilled welders, steel cutters and engineers,” the report said. 

When news first broke of the Hanjin shipyard’s lawyers having filed for corporate 
rehabilitation on Tuesday to get protection from creditors, the DOLE had said it was 
monitoring possible labor displacement. 
In an interview, Labor Assistant Secretary Benjo M. Benavidez told the BusinessMirror 
they have yet to receive an official report of retrenched workers from the 
Zambales-based shipbuilding firm. 

“We will first check if the development will lead to any disruption in the company’s 
operation,” Benavidez said. 

On Tuesday, HHICC-Phil filed for receivership as it reels from the prolonged decline in 
international shipping demands. 

Incentives
BENAVIDEZ explained that receivership means the company is suffering from financial 
instability and is now seeking for “life support” from other entities. 

“If the operation is not affected even if the company is under receivership, then no 
worker will be affected,” the labor official said. 

Benavidez gave assurances that the DOLE will provide aid like livelihood and 
employment facilitation to workers who may lose their jobs at HHICC-Phil. 

“If there is any displacement, that is when we will come in to offer our usual [assistance] 
programs,” Benavidez said. 

Contacted by the BusinessMirror, Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez confirmed that 

Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction Philippines had once enjoyed the usual 
income-tax holiday from the Board of Investments. The income-tax holiday is usually 
enjoyed for up to six years of a locator’s existence. Hanjin shipyard was established in 
2004. 

However, Lopez is unsure if Hanjin is still receiving any incentive from the Subic Bay 
Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), which is overseeing its business activity in the free-port 
area. Firms in economic zones and free ports, such as Hanjin, are usually granted tax 
perks, such as the 5-percent tax on gross income earned (GIE) in lieu of all local and 
national taxes. 

The Duterte administration’s second tax-reform program seeks to rationalize these 

incentives, and overhaul the entire menu of tax perks offered to locators such as Hanjin. 

“Hanjin is registered with the BOI and the SBMA. It is done with ITH with the BOI, but 
might still be enjoying something from the SBMA,” Lopez told the BusinessMirror. 

Power subsidy
BESIDES the usual perks given to Freeport locators, HHIC-Phil also enjoyed subsidized 
power rates for many years from the Philippine government. 

“The total subsidy was more or less P4 billion over a 10-year period,” said SBMA 
Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma. 

The shipbuilder based in South Korea was given subsidized power rates during the 
Arroyo administration in a bid to “convince them to come and invest here since we have 
one of the highest power rates in Asia,” noted Eisma. 

In August last year, the average rates of the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), the country’s 
largest power distributor, remained the third-highest in Asia. 

According to Eisma, the subsidy ended last year. However, “except for this year, the 
national government is releasing a final amount of P30 million plus.” 

The amount represents the unpaid portion of Hanjin’s power consumption in 2018. 

Eisma said Hanjin directly sources power “from the grid.” 

According to an official of power market operator, Independent Electricity Market 

Operator of the Philippines Inc. (Iemop), Hanjin is a directly connected customer that 
still sources power from a generation company (genco). 
“NGCP only provides the transmission but power supply still comes from a genco sold 
to it through RES [retail electricity supplier]. Advent Energy Inc. of the Aboitiz is the 
supplier of Hanjin,” said Iemop president Francis Saturnino C. Juan. 

“I remember several years ago, Hanjin had a supply contract with PSALM [Power Sector 
Assets and Liabilities Management Corp.] wherein Hanjin was provided with preferential 
rate, pursuant to an executive order,” added Juan. 

Echoes of 2016
THE problems faced by HHIC-Phils are now being compared to former subsidiary 
Hanjin Shipping Line Co. Ltd., which filed for court receivership in South Korea in 
August 2016. 

While Hanjin Heavy Industries has become a separate entity after spinning off from 
Hanjin Group in 2005, it was plagued with inquiries on the future of its business when 
Hanjin Shipping filed for what the United Nations Commission on Trade and 
Development then described as “the largest bankruptcy ever to take place in container 
shipping.” 

These inquiries as to the future of its business seemed, nonetheless, valid as MOF, an 
agent of Hanjin Shipping in the Philippines, also filed a petition for voluntary liquidation. 

According to BusinessMirror columnist Cecilio Arillo, MOF collected container deposits 

in the amount of P107.7 million from several importers and customs brokers. 

Because of MOF’s voluntary liquidation, “its creditors, whose unpaid claims aggregated 
to more than P158 million, including the P103-million unreturned container deposits, 
were paid only with the remaining more or less P5-million assets of MOF divided 
proportionately among them.” 

The Aduana Business Club Inc. (ABCI), representing more than 50 customs brokers, had 
insisted then, through its lawyer, that container deposits—given by importers and 
customs brokers to shipping lines as guarantee that containers will be returned in good 
condition—“are not part of MOF assets but are trust bonds for containers and thus 
should be returned,” according to an article in the industry newsletter ​Port Calls​. 

Confetti swirls around the bulk of the CMA CGM Antoine de Saint Exupery during the 
container ship’s rope-cutting ceremony in January 2018 at the Hanjin shipyard in the 
Subic Bay Freeport. 

No recent signs
STILL, there were no recent signs HHIC was struggling. In January 2018, to note, the 
South Korean shipbuilder ​unveiled the CMA CGM ​Antoine de Saint Exupery,​ the first 
20,600 TEU (20-foot equivalent unit) container vessel built in Subic. 

As of late November last year, Hanjin still sounded optimistic as it announced the 
delivery of two units of 114,000-deadweight crude oil tankers to its Singapore-based 
client Eastern Pacific Shipping (EPS). 
Hanjin reported on its website then that EPS was also expecting two more tankers of the 
same kind for delivery in the first quarter of 2019. “And with the positive business 
momentum of HHIC Phil and Eastern Pacific shipping, the latter have ordered two more 
tanker vessels that [are] set to start construction in the second quarter of 2019,” the 
Hanjin report added. 

Such optimism was characteristic of a company which has delivered 123 vessels since July 
2008 when it rolled out ​Argolikos,​ the first container ship to be built in the Philippines. 
That record meant that the company was churning out production at the rate of more 
than 12 vessels a year. 

According to Hanjin Heavy Industries & Construction Co., the mother firm in South 
Korea, its Subic affiliate filed for an insolvency scheme following “a drop in new orders 
amid the protracted slump in the global shipbuilding sector.” 

Hanjin’s petition to seek relief from creditors sent a shockwave through the business 
community in Subic, which has seen the meteoric rise of the South Korean firm since it 
started operation in the former US base turned free port in  2006. 

“It’s really sad that Hanjin would be in dire financial straits after successfully building 
some of the world’s biggest ships here and putting the Philippines on the map as the 
world’s fifth-largest shipbuilder,” said Eisma, who met with a high-ranking Hanjin 
official last Saturday to discuss the rehabilitation scheme. 

The Subic shipbuilder is a subsidiary of Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction Co. 
Ltd. (HHIC), the South Korea-based multinational that provides shipbuilding, 
construction and plant services worldwide, and is thus backed by one of the 
biggest ​chaebols,​ which are conglomerates with affiliated companies. 

Hanjin initially pumped $1.7 billion to complete its 300-hectare shipyard on the Redondo 
Peninsula in Subic, Zambales, in record time, and in 2016 the company’s foreign direct 
investment stood at $2.3 billion, the biggest in Subic since the free port was established in 
1992. 

By August 2015, Hanjin was already the single-biggest employer in the Subic Bay 
Freeport, with workers at its Redondo shipbuilding facility making up 36 percent of the 
total Subic work force. That year, the SBMA said it expected Hanjin workers to breach 
the 30,000 mark, as the company was signing more shipbuilding contracts. 

In the same year, the SBMA credited Hanjin among the major growth contributors in the 
Subic Freeport as the firm set out to complete at least 17 ships worth over $1.6 billion. 

In January last year, as Hanjin delivered the CMA CGM ​Antoine de Saint 

Exupery ​ HHIC-Phil President Gwang Suk Chung said the new vessel represented a 
breakthrough in global shipbuilding. 

“This newly built 20,600-TEU vessel proves, among others, the strength and capability of 
our Subic shipyard to manufacture in a timely manner mega-ships of much higher quality 
tonnage that are now shaping the shipping landscape around the world,” Chung said. 

Heavy-tail contracts
Hanjin’s fall appears to follow the path that has waylaid some of South Korea’s top 
shipbuilders since 2010. 

In a report by the South Korean news agency Yonhap in May 2016, it was said that 
heavy-tail contracts—where the buyer makes a larger payment late in the building 
process—may have led to heavy borrowings by Hyundai Heavy Industries, Samsung 
Heavy Industries and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering. 

Pyong Jong Yu, HHIC-Phil’s executive director for administration, was said to have 
confirmed as much during a meeting with Eisma on Saturday when he said that Hanjin 
has agreed to heavy-tail payments. 

A source said Yu revealed that the Subic shipbuilder has incurred at least $100 million in 
losses because of stiff global competition, low prices of ships, and low production at the 
local shipyard. 

Yu reportedly said that Hanjin’s troubles “drastically developed in October 2018, when 
we applied for a loan for two ships [and] we were turned down.” 
“We invested a lot of money when the shipbuilding industry was already at its peak,” Yu 
reportedly lamented. “Then it came down.” 

Fallout
In a statement on Wednesday,  Eisma said she was informed that Hanjin owes some 
$400 million in outstanding loans from Philippine banks on top of another $900 million 
in debts with lenders in South Korea. 

The company still has six pending multimillion-dollar new building projects at its 
Redondo Peninsula shipyard, and these may have to be canceled if a rehabilitation plan 
does not materialize, Eisma also said. 

“The bottom line is that the company said it does not have enough cash to repay its 
loans, and that it cannot continue with its operations under these circumstances,” Eisma 
added. 

Eisma also said that in the face of recent liquidity problems, Hanjin had laid off more 
than 7,000 workers last December and is poised to lay off another 3,000 early this year. 
The plan is to retain just about 300 local workers and as few as seven Korean supervisors 
by March to do facility maintenance, she added. 

“The SBMA, of course, expressed its concern about the separation of shipyard workers, 
but we received assurances that those who were laid off were amply compensated. Still, 
we’re having this aspect checked out,” Eisma said. 

White Knight
According to sources, Hanjin’s best scenario would be when the local creditor banks 
agree to the firm’s rehabilitation plan, which may involve the conversion of its debt to 
equity. 

The worst would be when the court tells Hanjin to liquidate its assets outright. 
Eisma said the SBMA is now working with Hanjin officials to find some way to keep the 
shipbuilder, which has helped build Subic’s huge reputation in the global maritime 
industry. 

“I really hope that Hanjin’s creditors would agree to some rehabilitation plan, or that the 
company would find some financial partner to continue with its shipbuilding operations 
in Subic,” Eisma also said. 

Specifically, Hanjin would need a white knight, a friendly party that would come to the 
aid of the ailing giant. In mid-2018, there was talk of negotiations with Davao’s Dennis 
Uy, but such fell through. 

Hanjin had reportedly talked to various parties but had not made any real progress on 
negotiations. 

However this story ends, it has become another cautionary tale for businesses, local or 
global, that achieve phenomenal growth on heavy borrowing. And, as the cliché goes, the 
bigger they are, the harder they fall. 

https://businessmirror.com.ph/a-giant-stumbles-in-subic-too-big-to-fail/