Money Briefs: Court may sell Hanjin's Asia-US ops

Court may sell Hanjin's Asia-US ops

SEOUL • The Seoul Central District Court overseeing the receivership filing of Hanjin Shipping is considering a disposal of the sales-and-marketing network of the container line's Asia-US operations as part of efforts to raise funds at the indebted company.

The plan was set in motion after a detailed evaluation of the company under bankruptcy protection indicated its assets could be more valuable if sold in parts, a court spokesman said by phone yesterday.

A sale would include employees and customers of Hanjin subsidiaries involved in handling Asia-US cargo as well as some vessels, he said.

Hanjin, South Korea's biggest container line, fell victim to a global slump in trade that has depressed freight rates and led to losses, consolidation and job cuts among other shipping companies.

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BP drops Great Australian Bight plan

SYDNEY • BP has abandoned oil exploration in the offshore Great Australian Bight, five years after it began searching for resources in one of the world's last frontier regions and before it could drill a single well.

The decision to step away from the project follows a review of the company's upstream strategy and was not influenced by regulatory delays, the energy producer said in a statement yesterday.

The project won't be able to compete "in the foreseeable future" for capital investment against other upstream opportunities, according to the statement.

Global oil exploration has been curtailed by the worst price crash in a generation amid a sustained oversupply. The oil industry may cut investments for a third straight year in 2017, the International Energy Agency said last month.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on October 12, 2016, with the headline Money Briefs: Court may sell Hanjin's Asia-US ops. Subscribe