By Kwanwoo Jun
Shares of South Korea's HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and its parent HD Hyundai rallied Monday, after they agreed to collaborate with U.S. military shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls Industries.
HD Hyundai said it signed a memorandum of agreement with Huntington on Sunday to jointly build U.S. Navy ships. HD Hyundai Heavy could build bloc modules and other materials for auxiliary ships at Huntington's shipyards, the South Korean shipbuilder said.
HD Hyundai Heavy's stock rose as much as 7.7% in Seoul on Monday after the pact, also sending its parent HD Hyundai's stock as much as 21% higher.
South Korean shipbuilders were largely advancing in morning trade, helping push the benchmark Kospi above the 4000 level for the first time. Kospi was last up 2.1% at 4026.14.
The latest Huntington-HD Hyundai deal aims to deepen shipbuilding cooperation between Seoul and Washington and explore potential joint investments in U.S. shipyards, according to the South Korean shipbuilding group. It didn't disclose further details on the collaboration.
The deal came ahead of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit due to open in South Korea later this week, which President Trump is set to attend.
Trump said in late July that Seoul pledged to invest $150 billion to help enhance the U.S. shipbuilding industry, as part of its broader $350 billion investment plan in exchange for lower U.S. tariffs on Korean goods.
U.S. and South Korean officials have been negotiating details on the structure of the investment, with Trump saying that both sides were nearing the final terms.
Write to Kwanwoo Jun at kwanwoo.jun@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 26, 2025 22:39 ET (02:39 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.