Why Korean shipyards aren't in for a 'head-on competition' vs Singapore

Just vying for jackup market.

According to Maybank Kim Eng, while Korean shipyards have stated their intention to vie for a share of the jackup market, we believe that a head-on competition with the Singapore yards is not the intention. 

According to media reports, Samsung Heavy conceded that Singapore yards are the recognised leaders in jackups and admitted that they could not compete as efficiently.

Here's more from Maybank Kim Eng:

Competition seems to be restricted to high-specification jackups (specifically Cat-J harsh environment jackups) which is in demand in the North Sea. A Singapore yard recently demonstrated its position as the jackup leader when SMM edged out Daewoo Shipbuilding (DSME) in securing a CJ-70 Harsh Environment jackup from Noble Corp recently.

The rig will be working for Statoil in the UK Mariner field. However, Samsung Heavy followed up swiftly with a pair CJ-70 jackup order, also from Statoil.