Hitachi Zosen Corp. and NKK Corp. said Friday they will merge their shipbuilding operations into a fifty-fifty joint venture to be established Oct. 1, 2002, as the global industry becomes increasingly competitive.
The two companies will set up a preparation committee to work out the details of the merger, they said.
"There is a limit to what we can do if we compete independently against South Korean shipbuilders," Hitachi Zosen President Iso Minami said at a news conference, attributing the merger to price-cutting competition from South Korean shipbuilders.