Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) Group has received unconditional approval for the merger with Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) from the competition authority of Kazakhstan. This is the first approval granted by international competition authorities for this transaction.

HHI Group said that the Kazakh competition authority’s approval of HHI’s proposed merger with DSME followed comprehensive assessments and reviews including the definition of relevant markets and the evaluation of potential threats to competition.

HHI Group’s proposed merger with DSME is currently under review for approval from Korea’s Fair Trade Commission and other international competition authorities including China, Japan, the EU and Singapore.

An official of HHI Group said, “The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including the receipt of regulatory approval from relevant competition authorities. We are making utmost efforts to win the approval of the transaction in line with their assessment schedules and procedures,” said an official of HHI Group. “We are maintaining a constructive dialogue with the EU competition authority as part of the ‘pre-notification period’. We currently anticipate notification of the transaction to the European Commission in the coming weeks.”