Bangladesh on hold, Vietnam at the double: STX chairman

Athens: "Due to domestic problems" the STX joint venture in Bangladesh is on hold, said the chairman of the Korean conglomerate yesterday.

However, in southeast Asia big plans are moving ahead for Vietnam, Kang Duk-Soo told Seatrade Asia Online. By virtue of its 40% stake in Aker, the Scandinavian outfit already has a small yard near Ho Chi Minh City, but STX wants more and will invest big sums to establish a shipbuilding facility near Nha Trang.

STX has had a high profile Posidonia where its design for a 22,000 teu containership has been one of the main talking points. The rationale for the 476m long vessel, according to Kang, is that container shipping must "enter a new paradigm" in this era of high fuel costs where, he maintained, bigger equals greater cost efficiency. [6/6/08]

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