rongsheng shipyard location made in china

RUGAO, China/SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Deserted flats and boarded-up shops in the Yangtze river town of Changqingcun serve as a blunt reminder of the area"s reliance on China Rongsheng Heavy Industries Group, the country"s biggest private shipbuilder.A view of the Rongsheng Heavy Industries shipyard is seen in Nantong, Jiangsu province December 4, 2013. REUTERS/Aly Song

The shipbuilder this week predicted a substantial annual loss, just months after appealing to the government for financial help as it reeled from industry overcapacity and shrinking orders. Rongsheng lost an annual record 572.6 million yuan ($92 million) last year, and lost 1.3 billion yuan in the first half of this year.

While Beijing seems intent to promote a shift away from an investment-heavy model, with companies reliant on government cash injections, some analysts say Rongsheng is too big for China to let fail.

Local media reported in July that Rongsheng had laid off as many as 8,000 workers as demand slowed. Three years ago, the company had about 20,000 staff and contract employees. This week, the shipbuilder said an unspecified number of workers had been made redundant this year.

A purpose-built town near the shipyard’s main gate, with thousands of flats, supermarkets and restaurants, is largely deserted. Nine of every 10 shops are boarded up; the police station and hospital are locked.

“In this area we’re only really selling to workers from the shipyard. If they’re not here who do we sell to?” said one of the few remaining shopkeepers, surnamed Sui, playing a videogame at his work-wear store. “I know people with salaries held back and they can’t pay for things. I can’t continue if things stay the same.”

In the shadow of the shipyard gate, workers told Reuters the facility was still operating but morale was low, activity was slowing with the lack of new orders and some payments to workers had been delayed.

“Without new orders it’s hard to see how operations can continue,” said one worker wearing oil-spattered overalls and a Rongsheng hardhat, adding he was still waiting to be paid for September. He didn’t want to give his name as he feared he could lose his job.

“Morale in the office is quite low, since we don’t know what is the plan,” said a Rongsheng executive, who declined to be named as he is not authorized to speak to the media. “We have been getting orders but can’t seem to get construction loans from banks to build these projects.”

While Rongsheng has won just two orders this year, state-backed rival Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuildinghas secured 50, according to shipbroker data. Singapore-listed Yangzijiang Shipbuildinghas won more than $1 billion in new orders and is moving into offshore jack-up rig construction, noted Jon Windham, head industrials analyst at Barclays in Hong Kong.

Frontline, a shipping company controlled by Norwegian business tycoon John Fredriksen, ordered two oil tankers from Rongsheng in 2010 for delivery earlier this year. It now expects to receive both of them in 2014, Frontline CEO Jens Martin Jensen told Reuters.

Greek shipowner DryShips Inchas also questioned whether other large tankers on order will be delivered. DryShips said Rongsheng is building 43 percent of the Suezmax vessels - tankers up to 200,000 deadweight tons - in the current global order book. That"s equivalent to 23 ships, according to Rongsheng data.

Speaking at a quarterly results briefing last month, DryShips Chief Financial Officer Ziad Nakhleh said Rongsheng was “a yard that, as we stated before, is facing difficulties and, as such, we believe there is a high probability they will not be delivered.” DryShips has four dry cargo vessels on order at the Chinese firm.

Rongsheng declined to comment on the Dryships order, citing client confidentiality. “For other orders on hand, our delivery plan is still ongoing,” a spokesman said.

At least two law firms in Shanghai and Singapore are acting for shipowners seeking compensation from Rongsheng for late or cancelled orders. “I’m now dealing with several cases against Rongsheng,” said Lawrence Chen, senior partner at law firm Wintell & Co in Shanghai.

Billionaire Zhang Zhirong, who founded Rongsheng in 2005 and is the shipyard"s biggest shareholder, last month announced plans to privatize Hong Kong-listed Glorious Property Holdingsin a HK$4.57 billion ($589.45 million) deal - a move analysts said could raise money to plug Rongsheng"s debts.

Meanwhile, Rongsheng’s shipyard woes have already pushed many people away from nearby centers, and others said they would have to go if things don’t pick up. Some said they hoped the local government might step in with financial support.

The Rugao government did not respond to requests for comment on whether it would lend financial or other support to Rongsheng. Annual reports show Rongsheng has received state subsidies in the past three years.

Another once-leading privately-owned yard China Huarong Energy Company, previously and better known as China Rongsheng Heavy Industries, continues to struggle with debts and ongoing talks with its creditors. The shipbuilder with huge yard facilities is now literally a �ghost yard�, where operations have ceased as funds dried up.

Jiangsu Rongsheng Heavy Industries Group Co. used to employ more than 30,000 people in the eastern city of Rugao. Once China�s largest shipbuilder, by 2015 Rongsheng was on the verge of bankruptcy. Orders had dried up and banks are refusing credit. Questions have been raised about the shipyard�s business practices, including allegations of padded order books. And Rongsheng was apparently behind on repaying some of the 20.4 billion yuan in combined debt owed to 14 banks, three trusts and three leasing firms.

Rongsheng is on the ropes now that it had completed a multi-year order for so-called Valemax ships for the Brazilian iron ore mining giant Companhia Vale do Rio Doce. The last of these 16 bulk carriers, the Ore Ningbo, was delivered in January 2015. With a carrying capacity of up to 400,000 tons, Valemaxes are the world�s largest ore carriers. Vale hired Rongsheng to build the ships starting in 2008, and has tolerated the shipyard�s slow pace: The Ore Ningbo was delivered three years late. Rongsheng employees said the Ore Ningbo may have been the shipyard�s last product because no new ship orders are expected and all contracts for unfinished ships have either been canceled or are in jeopardy.

Founder and former chairman Zhang Zhirong started the company in 2005 with money made when he worked as a property developer in the 1990s. The new shipyard stunned the industry by clinching major vessel orders from the start, even at a time when most of the world�s shipyards were slumping. Rongsheng�s success attracted investors and banks to the company�s side, fueling its expansion.

The shipyard, a sprawling facility spread across one-third of Changqingsha Island in the middle of the Yangtze River, suffered from a lack of capacity and management problems. As a result, the company had trouble meeting its contract obligations, including delivery timetables. Rongsheng�s problems were tied to difficulties with delivering ships. Many of Rongsheng�s order cancellations were due to its own delivery delays.

After the global financial crisis of 2008, many ship owners could no longer afford paying in advance for new vessels. So builders such as Rongsheng started arranging up-front financing with Chinese banks that got projects off the ground.

Rongsheng built ships with a combined capacity of 8 million tons in 2010 and was preparing to begin filling US$ 3 billion in new orders the following year. But the company�s 2011 orders wound up totaling only US$ 1.8 billion. That same year, Rongsheng�s customers canceled contracts for 23 new vessels.

In 2012, Rongsheng received orders for only two ships. Layoffs ensued, with some 20,000 workers getting the axe. The company closed the year with a net loss of 573 million yuan, down from a 1.7 billion yuan net profit in 2011 and despite 1.27 billion yuan in government subsidies. The bleeding worsened in 2013, with 8.7 billion yuan in reported losses. Despite a recovery of the Chinese shipbuilding industry in 2014, Rongsheng saw no relief, as its clients canceled orders for 59 vessels that year.

Roxen Shipping, a company controlled by Chinese businessman Guan Xiong, reportedly stepped in to rescue some US$ 2 billion worth of ship contracts that were canceled by Rongsheng�s other customers. Without these orders, Rongsheng never would have maintained its status as the No. 1 shipbuilder in China from 2009 to 2013.

Rongsheng�s capital crunch worsened since February 2014, when the China Development Bank (CDB) demanded more collateral after the company failed to make a scheduled payment on a 710 million yuan loan. When Rongsheng refused, the CDB called the loan. Other banks that issued loans to the shipbuilder had taken similar steps.

Rongsheng�s weak financial position was highlighted by a third-quarter 2014 financial report in which the company posted a net loss of 2.4 billion yuan. It also reported 31.3 billion yuan in liabilities, including 7.6 billion yuan worth of outstanding short-term debt.

It would cost at least 5 billion yuan to restart operations at Rongsheng�s facility, plus they have a huge amount of debt. Buying Rongsheng would not be a good deal.

The shipyard, located in the Yangtze River Delta, was founded in 2006, and became the largest private shipbuilder in China, churning out giant valemaxes at its four large dry-docks, before a massive financial collapse forced it to cease operations in 2014.

Broking sources in China tell Splash that the yard’s former chief operating officer David Luan is now preparing to officially reopen the yard, to be known as SPS Shipyard, a reference to ShipParts.com, a business he created in 2015 after quitting Rongsheng.

SPS Shipyard will start to market cape and kamsarmax slots from next week with next available slots being from Q3 2025 onwards. Luan has yet to reply to questions sent by Splash earlier today.

(Bloomberg) — China Rongsheng Heavy Industries Group Holdings Ltd., which hasn’t announced any 2012 ship orders, may find winning deals even harder as a company owned by its billionaire chairman faces an insider-trading probe.

Rongsheng, based in Shanghai, has tumbled 87 percent since a November 2010 initial public offering because of concerns about delivery delays and a global slump in ship orders caused by a glut of vessels. The shipbuilder, which operates facilities in Jiangsu and Anhui provinces, also said yesterday that first- half profit probably dropped “significantly” because of falling prices and slowing orders.

The demand slump has pushed new-ship prices to an eight- year low, according to shipbroker Clarkson Plc. Chinese shipyard orders plunged 49 percent in the first half.

The probe won’t affect day-to-day operations run by Chief Executive Officer Chen Qiang, as Chairman Zhang only has a non- executive role, Rongsheng said in a statement yesterday. Zhang wasn’t available for comment yesterday, according to Doris Chung, public relations manager at Glorious Property Holdings Ltd., a developer he controls.

Chen isn’t aware of Zhang’s personal business dealings and he has no plans to leave Rongsheng, he said yesterday by text message in reply to Bloomberg News questions. The CEO may help reassure potential customers as he is well-known among shipowners, said Lawrence Li, an analyst at UOB Kay Hian Holdings Ltd.

Zhang owns 46 percent of Rongsheng and 64 percent of Glorious Property, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The developer dropped 1.7 percent to close at HK$1.16 in Hong Kong today after falling 11 percent yesterday. Zhang’s listed holdings are worth about $1.2 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Zhang, who holds a Master’s of Business Administration degree from Asia Macau International Open University, started in building materials and construction subcontracting before getting into real estate. Construction of his first project, in Shanghai, began in 1996, according to Glorious Property’s IPO prospectus. He got into shipbuilding after discussing the idea with Chen at a Shanghai Young Entrepreneurs’ Association event in 2001, according to Rongsheng’s sale document. He formed the company that grew into Rongsheng three years later.

“People in his hometown think Zhang is a legend as he expanded two companies in different sectors so quickly,” said Ji Fenghua, chairman of Nantong Mingde Group, a shipyard located next to Rongsheng’s facility in Nantong city, Jiangsu province. The billionaire maintains a low profile, said Ji, who has never seen him at meetings organized by the local government.

Rongsheng raised HK$14 billion in its 2010 IPO, selling shares at HK$8 each. The company’s market value has fallen by about $6.1 billion to $1 billion, based on data compiled by Bloomberg.

Rongsheng, which also makes engines and excavators, had outstanding orders for 98 ships as of June 2012, according to Clarkson. It employed 7,046 people at the end of last year, according to its annual report. The shipbuilder has built a pipe-laying vessel for Cnooc and it has a strategic cooperation agreement with the energy company.

(Bloomberg) — China Rongsheng Heavy Industries Group Holdings Ltd., the shipbuilder whose woes made it a symbol of the country’s credit binge, said it planned to sell assets to an unidentified Chinese acquirer.

The company intends to sell the core assets and liabilities of its onshore shipbuilding and offshore engineering businesses, according to a statement to the Hong Kong exchange Monday. Rongsheng’s shares, which were halted March 11, will resume trading on March 17.

Once China’s largest shipbuilder outside government control, Shanghai-based Rongsheng has been searching for funds after orders for new ships dried up and the company fell behind on principal and interest payments on 8.57 billion yuan ($1.4 billion) of bank loans. Rongsheng’s struggles illustrate the difficulties shipbuilders face in competing with state-owned yards that have government backing and easier access to funds.

Rongsheng and the proposed buyer have entered into an exclusivity period while assets and liabilities are valued, according to the statement. The agreement will expire on June 30, the company said.

Rongsheng said March 5 it wouldn’t proceed with a proposed warrant sale after Kingwin Victory Investment Ltd. owner Wang Ping — a potential investor who had pledged as much as HK$3.2 billion ($412 million) — was said to have been detained.

Yangzijiang Shipbuilding Holdings Ltd. said previously it had been approached by China’s government about buying a stake in Rongsheng, and that no decision had been made. Yangzijiang Chief Financial Officer Liu Hua said today that the company isn’t involved in the agreement announced by Rongsheng, according to the company’s external representative.

Rongsheng has sought help from the government to benefit from a rebound in China’s shipbuilding industry — the world’s second biggest — after cutting its workforce and running up debts amid a global downturn in orders.

As orders for new ships began to dry up, China in 2013 issued a three-year plan urging financial institutions to support the shipbuilding industry. Ship owners placing orders for China-made vessels, engines and some parts should get better funding, the State Council said. A third of the more than 1,600 shipyards in China could shut down in the next five years, an industry association predicted earlier.

In September, the government responded by listing Rongsheng’s Jiangsu shipyard unit among 51 shipbuilding facilities in China deemed worthy of policy support as the industry grapples with overcapacity.

Some of Rongsheng’s subsidiaries, including Hefei Rong An Power Machinery Co. and Rongsheng Machinery Co., signed agreements with domestic lenders, led by Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, to extend debt repayments to the end of 2015, the company said in October.

China"s Yangzijiang Shipbuilding Holdings Ltd is considering a possible investment in troubled peer China Huarong Energy Co Ltd , formerly known as China Rongsheng, its executive chairman said on Thursday.

"The government, banks, and Rongsheng"s major shareholder all hope we can be part of the deal, but whether or not we will get in depends on the asset price," he told reporters at a post-earnings briefing in Singapore, where the company is listed.

Yangzijiang, in which Ren owns a 26 percent stake and is the biggest shareholder, is one of China"s biggest shipbuilders, and the country"s most profitable listed shipyard.

Hong Kong-listed China Rongsheng recently changed its name to China Huarong after expanding into oil and gas development and production. It is one of China"s largest private shipbuilders, and has been struggling with high debt and a slowdown in the shipbuilding industry in recent years.

RM2CWKKB5–A labourer welds part of the structure of a ship which is under construction at the Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding company"s shipyard in Shanghai October 14, 2013. China laid out a detailed three-year plan in early August to restructure its massive shipbuilding industry, urging local governments to halt approvals of new projects and companies to build high-tech vessels. While state-owned and better quality private shipyards now have enough construction orders to keep busy into 2015 or 2016, the future looks grim for the rest, many of whom have already run out of work. Picture taken October 14, 2

In 2008, Vale placed orders for twelve 400,000-ton Valemax ships to be constructed by Jiangsu Rongsheng Heavy Industries (RSHI) in China and ordered seven more ships from South Korean Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) in 2009. In addition sixteen more ships of similar size were ordered from Chinese and South Korean shipyards for other shipping companies, and chartered to Vale under long-term contracts. The first vessel was delivered in 2011 and the last in 2016.

The first Valemax vessels were ordered on 3 August 2008 when Vale signed a contract with the Chinese shipbuilder Jiangsu Rongsheng Heavy Industries (RSHI) for the construction of twelve 400,000-ton ore carriers. The development had reportedly started in 2007.

The first Chinese-built Valemax vessel, Vale China, was launched at the Nantong shipyard on 9 July 2011 and delivered on 25 November 2011.Valemax vessel would call a Chinese port on its maiden voyage,

The Chinese shipbuilder"s ability to deliver any of the very large ore carriers ordered by Vale in time was doubted already before the first ship was built.Valemax vessels will be delivered from the Chinese shipyard in 2011 instead of the planned six due to delays in construction.Vale China) was delivered before the end of the year. Furthermore, later reports claimed that the ships ordered by Vale had a capacity of only 380,000 tons even though according to the Det Norske Veritas database entries all Chinese-built ships have a deadweight tonnage in excess of 400,000 tons and in the past Vale has referred to the ships ordered from Rongsheng as "400,000-ton" vessels. The reduction in cargo capacity, at least on paper, may have been due to the reluctance of Chinese officials to accept the 400,000-ton ships to Chinese ports.

In April 2012, it was reported that Vale had refused delivery for three Valemax ships recently completed by Jiangsu Rongsheng Heavy Industries. This was seen as a move against the Chinese officials who have not allowed the 400,000-ton ships to dock in Chinese ports.

In March 2016, it was reported that three Chinese companies China Ocean Shipping (Group) Company (COSCO), China Merchants Energy Shipping and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) had ordered ten Valemax vessels each from four Chinese shipyards with a total price of US$2.5 billion.Valemax ships ordered by China Merchants Energy Shipping would be built by Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding (4 ships), Qingdao Beihai Shipbuilding (4 ships), and China Merchants Group-controlled China Merchants Heavy Industry (Jiangsu) (2 ships).Yangzijian Shipbuilding while the remaining four would be awarded to Qingdao Beihai Shipbuilding.Valemax vessels, Yuan He Hai, was delivered on 11 January 2018

Originally, Vale planned to own and manage a fleet of 19 Valemax vessels by itself in order to control the wildly fluctuating charter prices for large bulk carriers which had dropped from US$233,988 per day in June 2008 to as low as US$2,400 by December of the same year. However, because of the global economic downturn and the reluctance of Chinese ports to accept the fully laden ships, the new board of directors decided to focus capital allocation to mining. As a result, Vale decided to sell the ships and charter them back under long-term contracts.

The cause of the damage has not been published by STX, but design or construction flaws, material fatigue and incorrect loading have all been suspected.Vale Beijing remained anchored off Ponta da Madeira with a crawler crane on the deck and an oceangoing tug standing bySão Luís for Oman. After unloading at Sohar, the ship headed to South Korea for dry docking and arrived at STX shipyard in Jinhae, where it was delivered in September 2011, for inspection and repairs on 21 April 2012.Vale Beijing returned to service in July 2012.

Had Vale Beijing sunk at the pier instead of being moved to an anchorage area outside the port shortly after the leak was detected, the incident would have severely delayed the operations at the port which ships out about 10 percent of the world"s iron ore production.Vale Beijing delayed the loading of only 750,000 tons of iron ore,Trade Daring, a 145,000 DWT ore-bulk-oil carrier, broke in two at the same location due to incorrect loading, blocking the deepwater pier of Ponta da Madeira for more than six weeks before the wreck was removed and scuttled offshore.

Vale Sohar, built by Jiangsu Rongsheng Heavy Industries (RSHI), awaiting delivery for Oman Shipping Company in Nantong, China, in September 2012. Note the minor differences to the South Korean-built Vale Rio de Janeiro.

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the former president of Brazil, also publicly criticized Vale"s former CEO Roger Agnelli for the decision of ordering ships from Asian shipyards instead of building them in Brazil, where Lula da Silva has been trying to revitalize the shipbuilding industry to create more jobs and increase local demand for steel and other products. Agnelli, who later left his position following continued criticism, replied that the Brazilian shipyards did not have the capacity to build such ships and stated that during the past few years Vale had commissioned 51 vessels from Brazilian shipyards.