Korea Shipbuilding Buoyed by Australia Deal Amid Defense Boom

South Korea’s global defense ambitions gained fresh momentum after Australia cleared Hanwha to double its stake in the nation’s largest shipbuilder, strengthening the conglomerate’s bid to capture rising global security spending.

Australia will allow a unit of South Korea’s top defense firm Hanwha Aerospace Co. to own 19.9% of shipbuilder Austal Ltd., Treasurer Jim Chalmers said after agreeing to a recommendation from the Foreign Investment Review Board.

“Hanwha would remain a minority shareholder under this proposal and cannot increase its shareholding above 19.9%,” Chalmers said in a statement on Friday. Prior to the decision Hanwha owned 9.9% of the ...