UBS buys stake in South Korea bulk shipping line

UBS buys stake in South Korea bulk shipping line Swiss bank UBS AG said Monday it has acquired a 5.47 percent stake in South Korean shipping firm STX Pan Ocean worth about $270 million, Reuters reported.
   'UBS said in a filing with South Korea’s financial regulator that it had bought 113 million shares for investment purposes in STX Pan Ocean, South Korea’s top bulk-shipping firm, which went public in Seoul last month after a 2005 IPO in Singapore,' the report said. 'Its $630 million share offering was South Korea’s biggest IPO this year, as investors clamored for ways to cash in on soaring world trade. Analysts predict continued upward momentum for the stock, with China’s rapacious demand for iron ore, metals and other resources to fuel its galloping economic growth boosting international freight rates for bulk carriers, lifting earnings at dry-bulk shipping companies such as STX.'