South Korea's Hyundai Heavy Industries Group (HHI) has cleared the first hurdle towards its mega-merger with domestic yard rival DSME.
Kazakhstan has given competition approval for the deal, South Korean media reported.
HHI plans to complete the tie-up by the first half of 2020, but faces opposition from unions and potential objections from Japanese authorities in an ongoing row about what the Japanese view as state aid given to South Korean shipbuilders.
