South Korean shipbuilder STX Offshore & Shipbuilding Co Ltd will likely need to enter court-supervised receivership due to financial difficulties, the firm's lead creditor Korea Development Bank said on Wednesday.
STX Offshore's creditors took control of the company in 2013 after the shipbuilder was hit by falling ship prices following the global financial crisis.
A Korea Development Bank spokesman said the firm's creditors will decide on how to proceed with the court receivership process by the end of the month, as the company lacks sufficient funds to meet its financial obligations at end-May.
South Korean shipbuilders and container shippers such as Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering and Hanjin Shipping Co Ltd are facing severe financial troubles as sluggish global economic growth and weak oil prices drove them into deep losses.
(Reporting by Changho Lee; writing by Se Young Lee; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)