Reading Assignment 5

Vocabulary 1
Match the words from the article (1-10) to their meaning (a-j). Use a dictionary if necessary.

1. unveiled a. increasing
2. measures b. shown for the first time
3. reeling c. recovering
4. mounting d. key part of
5. rebounding e. getting over a shock
6. protracted f. took
7. pillar g. actions
8. stringent h. partnerships
9. clinched i. long
10. consolidation j. very strict

Vocabulary 2 – idioms
Match the four idioms in bold from the text to the meanings below.

1. short of money
2. supported by
3. complete
4. continue to operate as a business

Comprehension
Read the article and decide if the sentences are true or false.

1. The South Korean government is helping the country’s shipbuilding companies.

2. The shipbuilding industry has only recently begun to decline.
3. Shipbuilders were very important to the South Korean economy in the past.
4. The government is planning to buy 140 gas-powered s.
5. International laws are already in place for ships to be better for the environment.
6. China also has a large shipbuilding industry.
7. South Korean shipbuilders focus mainly on small vessels.
8. Japan could cause problems because they think South Korean shipbuilders get too
much government financial support
South Korea acts to keep small shipbuilders afloat
The South Korean government has unveiled a new set of measures to support the country’s
smaller shipyards struggling to stay afloat despite signs of recovery in the global shipbuilding
industry.
The country’s small and mid-sized shipyards are still reeling from mounting losses and huge
debts while its three biggest shipbuilders— Hyundai Heavy Industries, Daewoo Shipbuilding
and Marine Engineering, and Samsung Heavy Industries — are slowly rebounding from a
protracted industry decline on the back of rising new orders.
Seoul has been keen to help out the troubled industry, which was once a key pillar of the
country’s economic growth and job creation policies. South Korean shipbuilders are expected to
win new orders this year worth 12m compensated gross tonnes (a measure of the amount of
work needed to build a given ship).
That is close to their 2014 level, commerce minister Sung Yun-mo said on Thursday. “A full-
fledged recovery is expected to begin in the second half of next year, when they begin to work
on new orders won this year,”
he said.
The government, together with the private sector, plans to place orders worth about Won1tn
($885m) for a combined 140 vessels powered by liquefied natural gas by 2025, starting with two
ships next year. The combined sales of small and mid-sized Korean shipbuilders amounted to
Won601.2bn last year.
They also plan to invest Won2.8tn over the next seven years to build LNG bunkering facilities for the
vessels. Demand for LNG-fuelled ships is likely to increase with more stringent global
environment standards to be adopted in 2020.
Seoul is hopeful that the move will help South Korean shipbuilders improve their technological
capability for such eco-friendly ships as they are undercut by lower cost Chinese rivals in the
market for low-end ships.
Under the new measures, state-run policy banks will provide cash-strapped shipbuilders and
their suppliers with Won700bn in fresh loans and roll over Won1tn of maturing loans and debt
guarantees by one year.
The measures are aimed at ensuring that South Korea — home to the world’s three biggest
shipbuilders — stays ahead in next-generation shipbuilding technology as the industry’s focus
shifts to environmentally friendly and energy-efficient ships.
Despite growing challenges from China, South Korean shipbuilders clinched the top position in
new orders this year, driven by their strength in building large LNG carriers. In the January-
October period, they won new orders worth a combined 10.3m CGTs, an indicator of the amount
of work necessary to build a ship, outpacing Chinese and Japanese rivals who garnered 7.1m
CGTs and 2.7m CGTs of new orders respectively, according to market researcher Clarksons.
But Seoul’s latest move to shore up the industry could increase tension with neighbouring
Japan, which is preparing to sue South Korea at the World Trade Organization over alleged
subsidies for shipbuilding. They could also further delay the local shipbuilding industry’s
consolidation that many analysts believe is necessary to improve its profitability