BUZZ — Citi maintains 'buy' on shipbuilder Austal, says Hanwha negotiations progressing

* Citi says Austal's extension of the due diligence period for Hanwha Group is incrementally positive for the sale process * The announcement highlights that negotiations with Hanwha have moved beyond due diligence into active commercial negotiations - brokerage * Citi says due diligence appears largely complete, with only a "tail of lower materiality data requests" remaining outstanding * "Hanwha transaction seems to be advancing in the right direction" - Citi * Brokerage rates ASB as "buy", with a target price of A$5.75 * In August, Hanwha Group had offered to buy ASB's US operations for up to $1.20 billion * Shares up more than 10% so far this year (Reporting by Rajasik Mukherjee in Bengaluru) ((Rajasik.Mukherjee@thomsonreuters.com)