rongsheng shipyard china quotation

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 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.

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.

(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.

China’s biggest shipbuilder outside state control tumbled 16 percent yesterday in Hong Kong after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said traders including Chairman Zhang Zhi Rong’s Well Advantage Ltd. made more than $13 million of illegal profits buying shares of Nexen Inc. ahead of a takeover announcement by CNOOC Ltd. The SEC also won a court order freezing about $38 million of the traders’ assets.

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.

[Press Release]China Rongsheng Heavy Industries Secures Shipbuilding Contracts from Three Ship Owners* * * *Enhances Functions of the Vessel Models and Captures the GreenTrend in the MarketStrong Capability to Secure New Orders with Immense GrowthPotential

(3 July 2011, Hong Kong) – China Rongsheng Heavy Industries Group Holdings Limited (“China Rongsheng Heavy Industries” or the “Group”; stock code: 01101.HK), a large heavy industries group in China, is pleased to announce that it has secured large orders from three renowned shipowners in Europe recently, including four

6600-TEU containerships and ten 205,000-tonne bulk carriers.Mr Chen Qiang, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of China Rongsheng Heavy Industries, said, “We have secured the highest number of new orders in the country and the world’s fifth highest number of orders in hand since the end of 2010. Following the order[s] valued at USD400 million secured in the first quarter this year, we have secured several additional large orders which have notably increased the total amount of our orders in hand. These orders are sufficient to support our development in the coming few years, forming a solid foundation for our future growth. The signing of the contracts has increased the amount of new orders of the Group in the first half of the year to more than USD1.3 billion and further rationalised our order structure”.

The Group signed a contract with a renowned shipowner in Europe on 26 June in relation to ten 205,000-tonne bulk carriers. The contract is one of the few large orders in China in the first half and enhances the confidence of the international market in the country’s shipping enterprises. This order is for a new vessel model developed by the Group to be built to the specifications of the shipowner. The shallow draft vessel model is able to stop at many other ports including ports in Australia and Brazil in the world. It also boasts the low oil consumption of less than 60 tonnes of heavy oil per day which helps to save transportation costs.

At the same time, China Rongsheng Heavy Industries has signed contracts with two other European ship owners to provide each with two 6600-TEU containerships [respectively]. Adopting a new generation design, the 6600TEU containerships reduce the speed from 25 kn to 21 kn as well as [ballast capacity], thus saving oil consumption and lowering transportation cost.

Despite the slowdown in the global shipbuilding industry in the first half of the year, China Rongsheng Heavy Industries has stood out among its peers in the volume of new orders it has secured. This year, the Group has signed contracts with Golden Union, a well-known international shipowner, for provision of two Panamax bulk carriers in January, and 2+2 of these carriers in May. Founded in 1977, Golden Union is well-known for operating bulk carriers. Currently, Golden Union has more than 20 ships in its fleet, thus making it the leader in the dry bulk carrier transportation [industry] in Greece.

Panamax bulk carriers from Minsheng Financial Leasing (MSFL), the largest financing leasing company in China. It is worth noting that MSFL has granted 28 orders with

of bulk carriers will be used to deliver coal in the coastal waters of China by several domestic large coal-fired power plants such as Huadian and Guodian. The first vessel will be christened and delivered in July this year.

In recent years, the Group has placed equal attention on domestic and overseas markets, so as to consolidate its leading presence both in the global market and China. Besides, to meet the requirements of markets, the Group has also enhanced its R&D capability and undertook appropriate preparation for containership, which explains why it has grown into a strong competitor in this field.

Established in 2005, China Rongsheng Heavy Industries advanced to become a market leader in the Chinese shipbuilding industry within five years. According to Clarkson Research, China Rongsheng Heavy Industries was the second largest shipbuilder and the largest privately-owned shipbuilder in the PRC in terms of total order book measured by DWT as of end of 2010, and had the largest shipyard in the PRC. China Rongsheng Heavy Industries was also a global leader in manufacture of VLOCs of over 400,000 DWT. Headquartered in Hong Kong and Shanghai, China Rongsheng Heavy Industries has production facilities in Nantong of Jiangsu Province and Hefei of Anhui Province. Currently, China Rongsheng Heavy Industries’ business spans four segments: shipbuilding, offshore engineering, marine engine building and engineering machinery. Rongsheng products include bulk carriers, crude oil tankers, containerships, offshore engineering products, low-speed marine diesel engines and small to mid-size excavators for construction and mining uses. It has established strategic cooperations with renowned international classification societies including DNV, ABS, LR, GL and CCS, and has built a customer base including enterprises such as CNOOC, Vale, Geden Line, Cardiff Marine Inc., MSFL and Frontline Ltd. The Group’s products have been sold to 11 countries and regions including Turkey, Norway, Germany, Brazil, Singapore and China.For press enquiries:Strategic Financial Relations (China) LimitedMs. Anita CheungTel: (852) 2864 4827Email: anita.cheung@sprg.com.hk

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.

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 Shanghai-based company said on Aug 21 that it is entering the energy business by buying 60 percent in a Kyrgyzstan oilfield by issuing new shares. It said on Oct 15 that it is seeking to identify new investment opportunities outside of China including in Central Asia.

Shares in the maker of bulk carriers and oil tankers had been suspended from trading since Aug 29 in Hong Kong, pending the restructuring details. Rongsheng had first-half net losses of 3.06 billion yuan ($501 million), more than double last year"s.

Rongsheng was overdue on principal and interest payments on 8.57 billion yuan of bank loans on June 30, according to a Hong Kong Stock Exchange filing on Aug 29.

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. Li Junfeng / China Daily

By Pete Sweeney SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Chinese banks are stuck in a lose-lose legal battle between domestic shipyards and foreign buyers over billions of dollars in refund guarantees that are supposed to be paid out if shipbuilders fail to deliver on time. One in three ships ordered from Chinese builders was behind schedule in 2013, according to data from Clarksons Research, a UK-based shipping intelligence firm. Although that was an improvement from 36 percent a year earlier, it was well behind rival South Korea, where shipyards routinely delivered ahead of schedule the same year. That means Chinese banks may be on the hook to pay large sums to buyers if the yards can"t come through per contract, with little hope of recouping the cash from the yards. China is the world"s biggest shipbuilder, with $37 billion in new orders received last year alone. Buyers pay as much as 80 percent of the purchase price upfront. Chinese bankers rushed to finance shipbuilding after the 2008 global financial crisis as Beijing pushed easy credit and tax incentives to lift the industry and sustain industrial employment levels in the face of collapsing exports. Fees generated by offering such guarantees looked like easy money until massive oversupply and falling demand started taking a toll on the yards around 2010. Shipyards fell behind schedule and buyers demanded their money back. But behind or not, the builders, keen to keep orders on the books and prepaid money in their pockets, have submitted injunctions against banks in Chinese courts to prevent them from paying out. "China"s ambitions to take over South Korea as the top major shipbuilder meant that all the banks were encouraged to open up their wallets and lend money to the shipbuilders without making thorough due diligence," said AKM Ismail, former finance director for Dongfang Shipyard, the first Chinese shipyard to be listed on London"s AIM Stock Exchange in 2011. Since ships cost millions of dollars and can take years to deliver, a shipbuilder generally asks for part of the purchase price upfront to cover material and labor costs. Buyers normally obtain a refund guarantee from a bank to assure their money is returned if the yard defaults, and the yard pays the bank"s fee for the service. Lawyers say that in many cases, banks did not require shipyards to pledge any specific collateral, partly because these guarantees are like a form of insurance rather than a loan. That leaves banks stuck with the default bill. If banks obey local court injunctions and hold off from issuing refunds, they risk being taken to court by ship buyers in foreign jurisdictions. But if they pay out under the refund guarantee or seek compensation from the shipyard for the loss, bankers say they risk alienating local governments, which can damage the banks" business interests in the region. "The whole issue of refund guarantees has been a big headache," said a finance executive at China Minsheng Bank. "On the one hand, we know that our clients, the shipyards, will be saddled with huge debt that they will struggle to repay to us, if they can even pay back at all. But at the same time, our credibility is at risk, so we have to pay them out." He and other bankers interviewed for this article all spoke on condition of anonymity because of the legal sensitivities of the issue. Minsheng Bank did not respond to a request for comment. In one case, UK court records show that in November 2012, subsidiaries of German ship owner First Class Ship Invest GmbH took China Construction Bank Corp to court in London to enforce payment of more than $10 million under a refund guarantee after Zhejiang Zhenghe Shipbuilding Co Ltd allegedly failed to deliver on an order. CCB lawyers argued that an injunction served on it by Zhejiang Zhenghe in China would open up the bank to fines and the responsible banker could be arrested in China were it to pay out, but the judge rejected the argument. None of the parties in the suit responded to requests for comment from Reuters. Reuters was unable to find a single public example of a Chinese bank successfully fighting off a refund guarantee claimant in an overseas court; nearly all refund guarantee contracts stipulate litigation must be conducted in a foreign court. Jim James, a partner at Norton Rose Fulbright in Hong Kong, said that he has been involved in several cases in which yards repeatedly obtained injunctions from different Chinese courts to drag out the refund process. James, who has represented buyers, shipyards and banks in different cases, said the problem had become so serious that China"s supreme court planned to issue guidance to lower courts on the handling of injunction applications. LOBBYING WAR Most customer suits are settled in arbitration and domestic court records are usually not published, so there is little hard data on the number or value of contracts under dispute. But loan officers at China Export Import Bank, Bank of Communications, Bank of China and Shanghai Pudong Development Bank told Reuters that they had seen refund claims rising rapidly in 2012 and 2013. The problem was widespread enough for the China Behavior Law Association Training Cooperative Center, an organization registered with the Ministry of Civil Affairs, to hold a three-day conference for Chinese banks last July on the risks of refund guarantees. On the other side, the Shanghai Shipbrokers" Association published advice for shipyards on how to keep banks from paying out refund guarantees on its website, saying Chinese banks should be more cooperative. Shanghai Pudong Development Bank said it largely disbanded its shipping finance team in 2012, due to the sudden rise in refund guarantee claims and worsening market conditions. An executive at another Chinese municipal bank told Reuters his company was interested in getting into the refund guarantee business "but we"ve been warned by regulators to be careful." Jonathan Silver, shipping finance partner at Howse Williams Bowers, said banks have been taking steps to reduce their exposure, including asking shipyards to put up the partially built vessel as collateral for the guarantee. SHARING BLAME But lawyers also said that the Chinese shipyards are not always to blame, nor are their injunctions always frivolous. Ismail of Dongfang Shipyard said his experience at the yard showed many foreign investors had exploited the weakness of Chinese shipyards - and inexperience of Chinese banks - to drive very hard bargains vis a vis refund guarantees. Some buyers would gamble that prices would rise by the time the ship was completed and they could sell for an immediate profit. If prices didn"t rise, they would reject the ship and cash in the guarantee. In one instance, he said Dongfang had an agreement to deliver two or three ships that were behind schedule but 90 percent completed. The buyers pulled the plug and sought a refund, even though Dongfang was willing to renegotiate and sell the ship at a lower price, he said. BIG FISH Clarkson Research data shows that the Chinese shipbuilding industry won $37 billion in new ship orders in 2013, up 92 percent year-on-year. But this rising tide is not lifting all boats: Chinese state media reported that 80 percent of new ship orders went to just 20 yards. Investors are concerned that the debt-sodden Chinese shipping industry is set for a wave of defaults if Beijing doesn"t bail it out. China Rongsheng, the country"s largest private shipyard, reported a $1.4 billion loss for 2013 and some customers are worried about Rongsheng"s $4.6 billion worth outstanding orders. Greek ship operator Dryships Inc has already put down a $11.56 million downpayment, 8.5 percent of the total cost, toward four cargo ships scheduled to be delivered in 2014, but Dryships executives said they aren"t sure Rongsheng has even started cutting steel. "We don"t want to make any more payments to Rongsheng," Dryships CFO Ziad Nakhleh told Reuters in February. "Things are getting worse not better." Rongsheng said in an emailed statement to Reuters that thanks to recent refinancing, it is optimistic it can make delivery, but would not otherwise comment on other refund guarantee cases. Regardless, Dryships executives also said they expect Bank of China, the guarantor, to refund their money plus 8 percent interest if Rongsheng fails. Bank of China did not respond to a request for comment. By paying up, Chinese banks can reassure foreign customers doing business in China, protect their overseas assets and preserve their reputations. And the amounts, while large, are manageable, said Silver of Howse Williams Bowers. "If there is any collection of banks anywhere in the world able to disperse those sums of money... it"s going to be Chinese banks." (Additional reporting by the Shanghai Newsroom, Fayen Wong, and Keith Wallis in SINGAPORE; Editing by Emily Kaiser)

About two thousand workers at China’s biggest private shipbuilder in the eastern province of Jiangsu have clashed with police after they blockaded the plant"s entrance in protests over unpaid salary arrears, local media reports and workers said on Wednesday.

The workers from the Nantong shipyard owned by the troubled Rongsheng Heavy Industries have been on strike since Sunday after the company announced that they had to go on forced leave for a week.

The workers" strike comes after Rongsheng reported a loss of 49 million yuan (U.S.$8 million) in the first quarter of 2013, citing "the most difficult time yet" in the two recent quarters, shipping website SinoShip News said.

"The shipyard is in the middle of a transformation. We are confident and capable of solving issues in the process of the transformation," the official was quoted as saying.

Lei Dong, secretary to Rongsheng"s president, told the paper the layoffs are not a sign of financial trouble at the shipbuilder, but were rather the result of "restructuring," saying more than half the employees who were laid off were subcontractors and the remainder full-time employees.

The company said that the struggles of its shipbuilding arm, Jiangsu Rongsheng Heavy Industries, had been hampering efforts to expand in energy services

China Rongsheng Heavy Industries Group Holdings Limited [1101.HK] has announced that it has signed a memorandum of understanding that will see its shipbuilding business, Jiangsu Rongsheng Heavy Industries, sold to an undisclosed potential purchaser.

According to the company, the depressed shipbuilding market had led to operational difficulties at Jiangsu Rongsheng Heavy Industries, while its highly-leveraged state was also interfering with the company"s efforts to expand in oil and gas exploration elsewhere.

It was reported in 2012 that in the face of market difficulties, China Rongsheng Heavy Industries had turned its focus to building containerships with a "green design" as one its key products.

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.

Shares in China Rongsheng Heavy Industries Group Holdings, the largest private shipbuilder in China, fell by 8.6 percent in Hong Kong Tuesday, after the company issued a profit warning. The shares fell by 16.4 percent Monday.

China Rongsheng Heavy dropped by HK$0.1 ($0.01) to end at HK$1.07 a share Tuesday, down by 23.6 percent from its closing price of HK$1.4 a share Friday.

"China Rongsheng Heavy has been receiving a huge amount of local government subsidies since 2010. It received over 800 million yuan in 2010 and more than 1.2 billion yuan in 2011. Because its earnings are going to drop significantly this year, the government is expected to further increase its subsidies to the company, whose main business will face a loss without them," the news report said, citing an unnamed source.

China"s shipbuilding industry is facing bleak prospects because demand for the types of vessels it is good at producing has declined amid poor economic conditions, Hu Qianli, a manager at the Shanghai office of Norwegian vessel surveyor Det Norske Veritas, told the Global Times Tuesday.