The South Korean government said Thursday that a decision by the European Union to block the merger between the two local shipbuilders – Hyundai Heavy Industries and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering – may have a limited impact, citing a recovery in global ship orders.

“The industry is seeing much better conditions than in 2019 and we will continue searching for the right ‘civilian’ operator for DSME,” the government said in a statement jointly released by related ministries, referring to state-run Korea Development Bank’s decision to sell its stake in DSME to HHI. 

KDB is DSME’s largest shareholder.

The government added that it regretted the EU’s disapproval of the merger, which was greenlighted by authorities in rival countries including China, Singapore and Kazakhstan. KDB is to make a separate announcement.