[Yonhap News Photo]
South Korea's debt-stricken Hanjin Shipping said Monday it has been allowed to close its European operations as part of efforts to raise cash through the sale of assets.
Hanjin said in a regulatory filing that a Seoul court approved the company's request to apply for bankruptcy or liquidate its operations in Europe. The process would begin in early November.
Last week Hanjin was allowed to sell its 54-percent stake in Total Terminals International, which operates two US facilities in Long Beach and Seattle.
Hanjin, which filed for court receivership on August 31, has been under pressure to speed up the sale of assets and a cut in its manpower. It is saddled with a debt estimated at six trillion (5.3 billion US dollars) at the end of June.
Bidding managers would receive letters of intent by October 28 and written proposals on November 7 for the sale of Hanjin's assets.
Hyundai Merchant, the country's second-largest shipper controlled by creditors, plans to submit a preliminary bid for Hanjin's assets including its Asia-US route which has generated sales of up to four trillion won annually.
Aju News Lim Chang-won = cwlim34@ajunews.com
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
