[THE INVESTOR] Hyundai Merchant Marine said on June 28 that it will stay bound to creditor-led reforms for one more month until late July.

The firm said this was because it was taking longer than expected to meet some of the conditions put forth by its creditors for agreeing to the 90-day restructuring.

One of the conditions was to join a global shipping alliance, and this has met some challenges, the firm said. 



The other two are a debt recast and a charter rate cut.

Hyundai Merchant said it has been seeking to join the group, 2M, spearheaded by AP Moller-Maersk A/S.

Membership in a global alliance is very important for the firm to upgrade its competitiveness, according to industry watchers.

Troubled local shippers such as Hyundai Merchant and Hanjin Shipping have recently been struggling to carry out restructuring plans.

Earlier this month Hyundai Merchant reached an agreement with owners of its chartered ships to cut leasing rates by slightly over 20 percent over the coming 3 and a half years. This will save the firm 530 billion won (US$455 million), the shipper said.

Also, the bondholders of Hyundai Merchant Marine approved a 804.2 billion-won debt rescheduling proposal, under which more than half of its debt will be swapped for the shipper’s stocks and the remaining debt will be paid back in two years. The creditors also agreed to swap 680 billion won worth of debt for the shipper’s stocks. Hyundai Merchant’s debts reached 5.2 trillion won as of the end of March.

By Kim Ji-hyun (jemmie@heraldcorp.com)