Anchor: In the wake of the near-collapse of the nation’s number two shipbuilder, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, state-run lenders must now undergo profitability assessments when providing financial support to the nation’s ship manufacturers. The move is to prevent shipbuilders and constructors from taking less-than-profitable orders as the industry is turning more sluggish. 
Our Jacob McEndollar has more.
 
Report: State-run financial institutions will be required to undergo profitability tests when lending to shipbuilders and construction firms. 
 
In the wake of the near-collapse and subsequent multi-trillion won injection into the nation’s second largest shipbuilder, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, the government and related industries held a meeting on Tuesday.
 
Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan called for a fundamental solution to ride out the industrial downturn as he obligated banks to undergo rigorous profit simulations by external appraisers.
 
The deputy prime minister for economy stressed that taxpayers would otherwise bear the burden.
 
The stricter lending regulations come out of concerns that businesses could become financially unstable due to low-profit orders, like Daewoo, at a time when the industry is turning sluggish. 

The Export-Import Bank of Korea found that the number of orders accepted by local shipbuilders in the third quarter was down 19-point-four percent from the same period last year.
 
The total number of orders received by South Korean shipbuilders this year is expected to stand at around 24 billion U.S. dollars, down 27 percent from 2014.
 
Related industries are expected to witness a continued slump next year amid a slowdown in such companies around the world.
 
To prevent worsened profitability, the government plans to expand policy financing support centers and set up taskforces at agencies to discuss ways to overcome the tough times.
Jacob McEndollar, KBS World Radio News.