Anchor: The Big Five in global shipbuilding had long been South Korean companies. That composition broke last month as a Chinese company entered the field for the first time. The plunge in oil prices accompanied by years of low-margin orders have taken a toll while Chinese yards were buoyed by state-backed support.
Our Kim In-kyung has more.
 
Report: A Chinese company has emerged as the world's fifth-largest shipbuilder by order backlog, eroding South Korea's long-held dominance.
 
According to shipping information provider Clarkson Research Services on Tuesday, Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding placed fifth with an order backlog of slightly over three-million compensated gross tons (CGT) as of the end of November.
 
It is the first time that a Chinese company has entered the Big Five, four of which remain Korean shipbuilders.

Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering retained its position at the top with an order backlog of more than eight-million CGT. But Samsung Heavy Industries took second place, trading its position with third-ranked Hyundai Heavy Industries.
 
Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries, a Hyundai Heavy affiliate, placed fourth. The perennial fifth and another Hyundai affiliate, Hyundai Mipo Dockyard, was pushed down to sixth place.
 
A shipbuilding industry official said there are so many shipbuilders in China that overall the nation has the largest backlog. But South Korean companies had dominated the first to fifth-largest shipbuilders' list before financial difficulties this year.
 
The problem is that prospects for next year aren't bright for South Korea's Big Five. Daewoo Shipbuilding reported its second straight quarterly loss in October as a slump in oil prices increased costs for its offshore operations. Both Hyundai and Samsung Heavy have had to tighten their belts.
 
Rather than bidding aggressively for orders, the companies are expected to focus on raising profits, which will provide a wider opening for Chinese shipbuilders to increase their market share.
Kim In-kyung, KBS World Radio News.