Hanwha Group said it welcomed the Australian government’s approval of its application for a 19.9% equity position in Austal Limited, as recommended by the Foreign Investment Review Board.
Jae-il Son, CEO and President of Hanwha Aerospace, said the approval created the opportunity for Hanwha and Austal to strategically collaborate on global defence shipbuilding business. “Today’s decision follows a robust and thorough review process by FIRB and the Treasurer, and we are pleased that we have been able to meet the Australian Government’s expectations. We also respect conditions for the approval and Hanwha will maintain full compliance. We have always been confident of the benefits our investment will bring, and we will leverage our capabilities and insights for the benefit of the company and its stakeholders,” said Son. “We are pleased with the outcome of the FIRB process and we look forward to having productive discussions with Austal on the strategic path ahead.”
Treasurer Dr Jim Chalmers earlier said “I have agreed to the clear recommendation from the Foreign Investment Review Board to not object to Hanwha’s proposal to increase its shareholding in Austal Limited from 9.9 per cent to 19.9 per cent, subject to strict conditions. My decision was not taken lightly and comes after extensive consultation and long and careful deliberation. It follows a thorough and robust process that took account of all the relevant economic, national security and other national interest issues.”
Chalmers said Hanwha would remain a minority shareholder under this proposal and cannot increase its shareholding above 19.9 percent. He also said if the proposal goes ahead, it would be subject to a number of strict conditions relating to governance, and data information and security, including:
- Limits on Hanwha’s access to sensitive information.
- Limits on the storage of sensitive information.
- Stringent criteria on any Hanwha nominee to Austal’s board.
These conditions build on the strong safeguards that already apply to Austal Defence Australia as Australia’s Strategic Shipbuilder, Chalmers said.
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With Hanwha now a shareholder in Austal, how keen will MHI be in having its design ( the Mogami) being built by Austal ?.
I don’t believe a single Mogami will ever be built in Australia, irrespective of Austal’s shareholders. Neither they nor TKMS was asked for a price for an Australian build, or even a single sentence about what their build strategy would be.
While I understand the need for Sovereign Ship Building capability, I don’t believe that giving Austal the majority of ship building. With the LCV-M, the LCH, the Cape Class, the Guardian Class, the Mogami ( supposedly) as well as all the maintenance work to be done seems a stretch, especially since most of the facility is supposedly still under construction. For a start Birdon should be building the LCV-M and the Mogami should be built in Japan ( which I believe was the plan all along) this would allow Austal to get on with building the LCH ( which I believe is already behind schedule without even the steel being cut). If it’s such a priority to get hulls in the water, giving all the work to one shipyard seems at odds with idea.
No one can understand the government’s fascination with Austal. What’s wrong with Civmec? Agree totally about Birdon.