HMM’s two largest shareholders, Korea Development Bank (KDB) and Korea Ocean Business Corporation (KOBC) collectively holding 40.6%, have announced they will form an advisory group to sell the government’s interest in the container carrier and start the privatization process. HMM has been controlled by the state since 2016, when government entities stepped into rescue the company from a liquidity crisis. The company has since re-established itself with the help of pandemic profits. HMM is currently the 8 th largest carrier globally with a fleet of around 815,000 TEU. KDB and KOBC are currently receiving proposals from M&A advisory firms and intend to appoint one sales manager, once accounting firm and one law firm by end of March.