rongsheng shipyard china for sale

(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.

The company is trying to complete a restructuring by June and has proposed to change its name to China Huarong Energy Co. to more accurately reflect its expansion and new business scope.

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.

Last October, the company entered into an agreementto sell 98.5% equity interest of Rongsheng Heavy Industries, the entire interest in Rongsheng Engineering Machinery, Rongsheng Power Machinery and Rongsheng Marine Engineering Petroleum Services, to Unique Orient, an investment holding company owned by Wang Mingqing, a creditor of Huarong Energy, for a nominal price of HK$1.

Once the largest private shipyard in China, Rongsheng ceased shipbuilding operations in 2014 after it was hit by a major financial crisis and the shipyard rebranded into Huarong Energy in 2015.

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.

The exodus has left row upon row of deserted apartments, with just a few old garments strewn on the floor and empty name tags to show for what was a bustling community before China’s economic growth began to slow and credit tightened at a time when global shipping, too, turned down.

The former China Rongsheng Heavy Industries said an unnamed bondholder has agreed to take over the "non-performing and debt-burdened" yard and engineering business.

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.

One of China"s biggest yards is investigating a number of ways to get out of the company"s economic troubles of a billion dollar deficit. Rongsheng Heavy Industries now has plans to sell the company"s shipping yard business and focus on the energy business instead, according to several media sources.

The shipyard of China Rongsheng Heavy Industries Group Holdings Ltd in Rugao, Jiangsu province. The company will generate HK$2.55 billion ($326.4 million) in a share sale in the next six months and HK$3.23 billion thereafter. [Provided to China Daily]

China Rongsheng Heavy Industries Group Holdings Ltd, the private-sector shipbuilder that had sought financial assistance, has secured cash for restructuring and announced changing the company"s name as it shifts focus to energy.

Shifting its focus to oil will need a lot more funds, which Rongsheng already struggled to get as a shipbuilder, said Francis Lun, chief executive officer of Geo Securities Ltd.

The company had sought help from the government to benefit from a rebound in China"s shipbuilding industry after cutting its workforce and running up huge debts amid a global downturn in orders.

In September the Jiangsu shipyard unit was listed among 51 shipbuilding facilities in China deemed worthy of policy support as the industry grapples with overcapacity.

Rongsheng said it has now received the results of an appraisal by an independent assessor, which will be used as the basis for the restructuring in which it also plans to change its name to China Huarong Energy Co to more accurately reflect its expansion and new business scope.

RUGAO, China—An anxious shipyard worker named Li and the deserted shops around him offer a glimpse of the tough choices that many of China"s most bloated industries present to Beijing.

The 46-year-old Mr. Li, who gave only his surname, said he works for China Rongsheng Heavy Industries Group Holdings Ltd. The company Friday said it is struggling to pay employees and suppliers and is in talks with its bankers for more credit. Rongsheng also is seeking financial help from the government and shareholders amid a prolonged industry slump.

The recent IPO frenzy and good secondary market performance for new share issues has prompted some issuers to revive earlier listing plans. China Rongsheng Heavy Industries, one of the largest shipbuilders in China, kicked off the bookbuilding yesterday for an initial public offering of between HK$12.77 billion and HK$17.67 billion ($1.65 billion to $2.27 billion) in Hong Kong.

If successful, Rongsheng’s offering will be one of the largest IPOs in Hong Kong this year following Agricultural Bank of China’s $22.1 billion share sale and AIA’s $20.5 billion listing.

China’s new economic blueprint is not favouring heavy industry plays. In its 12th five-year plan, the government hopes to address issues like pollution and economic inequalities, which are both caused by years of aggressive investment in the country’s heavy industry – a sector which is capital-intensive but creates few jobs and has made wage increases in China lag behind GDP growth.

Rongsheng’s bigger state-owned rival, Guangzhou Shipyard International, is the largest shipyard listed in Hong Kong and has seen its share price surge more than 30% so far this year. It trades at about 11 times 2011 estimated earnings, according to data from Bloomberg.

Four cornerstone investors have shown their confidence in Rongsheng with a commitment to buy an aggregate $155 million of shares in the IPO. Shining East, a wholly-owned subsidiary of China National Offshore Oil Corporation, has agreed to subscribe to $40 million worth of shares; China Life Insurance, the nation’s biggest life insurer, will invest $50 million; China Southern Fund, a Chinese open-ended fund, will buy $35 million worth; and Atlantis, an independent investment boutique, has agreed to purchase $30 million of stock.

The company, which builds iron ore cargo ships for the Brazilian mining firm Vale, revealed that it is in discussions with 10 banks—including Bank of China, China Minsheng Bank and China Development Bank—to extend deadlines on 10 billion yuan of debt. And that’s just the most urgent batch of loans; its total obligations

This lending boom dovetailed nicely with one of the Chinese government’s stated ambitions: to become the planet’s biggest shipbuilder by 2015. The resulting credit-fueled over-investment in the sector saw China ramp up to 1,647 shipyards as of 2012, compared with the 10 to 15 that South Korea and Japan have,

This aligns with one of the company’s top priorities of the moment, said Bank of America/Merrill Lynch analyst Jacqueline Li in a note on Friday—namely, to issue more convertible bonds. It’s a handy way of keeping the cash coming in even as ship orders dwindle. The HK$3.4 billion in convertible bonds Rongsheng has sold since mid-2013 implies a pretty significant dilution of equity, should these be converted to shares. Li notes that its other priorities are rolling over its short-term bank loans and finding strategic investors.

(Beijing) – Piles of rusty steel bars and old ship parts are virtually all that"s left of a sprawling shipyard in the eastern city of Rugao, where Jiangsu Rongsheng Heavy Industries Group Co. used to employ more than 30,000 people.

Once China"s largest shipbuilder, Rongsheng is on the verge of bankruptcy. Orders have 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 is apparently behind on repaying some of the 20.4 billion yuan in combined debt owed to 14 banks, three trusts and three leasing firms, sources told Caixin.

--FILE--Chinese workers queue up to board a bus at a shipyard of Rongsheng Heavy Industries in Rugao city, east Chinas Jiangsu province, 23 August 2012. China Rongsheng Heavy Industries Group Holdings Ltd., the nations biggest shipyard outside state control, halted share trading on Thursday (4 July 2013) after a report the company recently pared about 8, 000 jobs. Trading of shares and all structured products related to the company was suspended pending clarification of news articles and possible inside information, Rongsheng said in filings to the Hong Kong stock exchange. The Wall Street Journal reported, citing Lei Dong, secretary to the Shanghai-based companys president, that more than half of the employees laid off were subcontractors and the rest full-time workers. Rongsheng shares slumped 10 percent on Wednesday after the company said some idled contract workers had engaged in disruptive activities by surrounding the entrance of its factory in east Chinas Jiangsu province. Chinas shipyards are suffering from a global slump in orders as a glut of vessels and slowing economic growth sap demand. Brazil and Greece accounted for more than half of Rongshengs 2012 revenue.

During the year ended 31, December 2013 China Rongsheng, the largest non-state-owned shipbuilder in the PRC, reports that revenue of the Company was RmB1,343.6 million, a decrease of 83.1% from RmB7,956.3 million for the year ended 31 december 2012. Excerpts from the report follow:

China Rongsheng Heavy Industries Group Holdings Limited explain that In 2013, the unfavourable operating environment for ship owners persisted amid the unsatisfying performance of the global shipping market in spite of the tepid recovery from 2012. As a result, ship owners requested shipyards to postpone the delivery of new vessels.

In 2013, the overcapacity in the global shipping market was not curbed, with shipping enterprises stuck in the loss-making position, exacerbating the overcapacity in shipbuilding industry and leaving the prices for new vessels low. In response to the adverse market environment, Rongsheng adopted a defensive sales strategy and abandoned some extremely low price orders.

Rongsheng anticipates that the elimination of outdated overcapacity and lifted market entry barriers will result in an increase in market concentration and thus benefit leading large-scale shipbuilders in the long term. leveraging on the government policies. They say they will carry on implementation of established strategy of “Transformation and advancement” to further strengthen and expand the company for the long-term development.

China Rongsheng Heavy Industries Group Holdings Limited and its subsidiaries are a leading diversified large heavy industries group in China. Business segments include shipbuilding, offshore engineering, marine engine building and engineering machinery.