HD Hyundai Mipo plans to transform its HD Hyundai Vietnam Shipbuilding in Khanh Hoa Province in central Vietnam into a shipbuilding base focusing on a wider range of general commercial ships.
HD Hyundai Mipo has recently completed negotiations with the Khanh Hoa provincial authorities on extending the land use period and other related matters. HD Hyundai Mipo is expected to propose to the Khanh Hoa provincial authorities that it plans to adjust HD Hyundai Vietnam Shipbuilding from focusing on building bulk carriers and oil tankers to focusing on a wider range of general commercial ships.
To promote this transformation, HD Hyundai Mipo plans to increase the annual production capacity of HD Hyundai Vietnam Shipbuilding from the current 12~13 ships to 23 ships by 2030 by expanding production equipment and optimizing production processes. At the same time, HD Hyundai Mipo has invested an additional US$100 million in HD Hyundai Vietnam Shipbuilding. With this business adjustment, HD Hyundai Mipo’s commercial shipbuilding capacity will be greatly improved.
The South Korean industry has stated that, compared to domestic shipyards in South Korea, Vietnamese shipyards possess abundant labor resources and are more suitable for constructing general merchant ships. Additionally, HD Hyundai Vietnam Shipbuilding enjoys high levels of trust from the local government and the shipbuilding industry in Vietnam, and is expected to receive comprehensive support from the local authorities.
On the other hand, with the US crackdown on China’s shipbuilding industry, some shipowners are interested in turning to Korean shipyards to place orders. This trend in new ship ordering also provides conditions for HD Hyundai Mipo’s capacity expansion.
HD Hyundai Vietnam Shipbuilding was established in 1996 as a joint venture between HD Hyundai Mipo and Vietnam National Shipping Lines. The shipyard covers an area of about 992,000 square meters, owns a 400,000-ton slipway and a 100,000-ton slipway with the largest 700-ton gantry crane and a quay shoreline length of 1.4 kilometers. HD Hyundai Vietnam Shipbuilding was initially engaged in the business of ship repairing and retrofitting, then entered into the newbuilding business after 2008, and exited the ship repairing business after 2011 and completely shifted to the newbuilding business.
HD Hyundai Vietnam is said to be “the first and most successful case of overseas expansion of Korean shipbuilding industry”. Currently, it focuses on building bulk carriers and tankers of 50,000 DWT to 80,000 DWT. To date, it has received orders for more than 200 new ships.
In addition, South Korean media outlets have reported that HD Hyundai’s move is seen as an important step for South Korea to seize the initiative in shipbuilding in order to respond to the further rise of China’s shipbuilding industry.
Since the beginning of the 21st century, the Chinese government has worked closely with shipbuilders to vigorously promote the development of the shipbuilding industry. By the end of May 2025, Chinese shipbuilders had a backlog of 96.39 million CGT, with a market share of 59%, ranking first in the world; while Korean shipbuilders had a backlog of 36.3 million CGT, with a market share of 22%. The market share gap between the two reached 37%.
According to official South Korean data, in 2024, China’s shipbuilding industry has a comprehensive competitiveness rating of 90.6, while South Korea’s is 88.9. Although South Korea still maintains an advantage in ship type research and development and design, China has surpassed South Korea in production, demand, and service. Not only that, but China has also surpassed South Korea in the fields of container ships, oil tankers, and bulk carriers.