rongsheng shipyard supplier

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.

Since Beijing appears intent on telling investors it is serious about changing the investment-led growth model of the world’s second-biggest economy and controlling a credit splurge, it may seem like the writing is on the wall for China Rongsheng Heavy Industries Group.

Yet analysts say the government is more likely than not to judge that Rongsheng, which employs around 20,000 workers and has received state patronage, is too big and well connected to fail.

Supporting Rongsheng will not mean China’s economic reform plans are derailed, they say. Instead, it will mean reforms will be gradual and the government will cherry-pick firms it wants to support, which will exclude the small, private shipbuilders that have been folding in waves.

“Rongsheng is a flagship in the industry,” said Lawrence Li, an analyst with UOB Kay Hian in Shanghai. “The government will definitely provide assistance if companies like this are in trouble.”

Analysts say Rongsheng is possibly the largest casualty of a sector that has grown over the past decade into the world’s biggest shipbuilding industry by construction capacity. Amid a global shipping downturn, new orders for Chinese builders fell by half last year. In Rongsheng’s case, it won orders worth $55.6 million last year, compared with a target of $1.8 billion.

Rongsheng appealed for government aid on Friday, saying it was cutting its workforce and delaying payments to suppliers to deal with tightened cash flow.

In the prospectus for its initial public offer, Rongsheng said it received 520 million yuan of subsidies from the Rugao city government in the southern province of Jiangsu, where the company is based.

The state funds paid for research and development of new types of vessels, and were based in part on the “essential role we play in the local economy”, Rongsheng said.

As the world’s largest shipbuilder, it had 1,647 shipyards in 2012, data from China Association of the National Shipbuilding Industry showed. Over 60 percent of its shipbuilders are based in Rongsheng’s province of Jiangsu.

Despite this, the government is providing support for the industry, a sign it will also support Rongsheng given its prominence in the sector, analysts said.

Analysts say what separates Rongsheng from many other companies are its connections with the government and state banks. Rongsheng’s Chief Executive Chen Qiang, for example, enjoys “special government allowances” granted by China’s cabinet, the firm’s annual reports say.

Rongsheng also said in its IPO prospectus that it has two five-year financing deals with Export-Import Bank of China that end in 2014 and in 2015, and a 10-year agreement with Bank of China starting from 2009.

After all, local government coffers will suffer the biggest blow if Rongsheng goes bust. The firm had 168 million yuan of deferred income taxes in 2012.

“Do people expect one of the largest shipyards in the world is going to stop building ships completely with state-of-the-art, brand new facilities?” said Martin Rowe, managing director of global shipping services provider Clarkson Asia Ltd. “I think it’s highly unlikely.” (Reporting by Yimou Lee in HONG KONG and Koh Gui Qing in BEIJING; Editing by Neil Fullick)

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Trading in shares of China Rongsheng Heavy Industries Group Holdings Ltd, China"s largest private shipbuilder, was suspended on Thursday in the wake of media reports that said it had laid off 8,000 workers in recent months.A view of the Rongsheng Heavy Industries shipyard is seen in Nantong, Jiangsu province, in this file photo taken May 21, 2012. REUTERS/Aly Song/Files

No further details were available and China Rongsheng declined to comment, but analysts said the company’s balance sheet was under pressure. On Wednesday, its shares closed down 10 percent at HK$1.06.

Local media reports said a large number of small to mid-sized shipping firms went bankrupt during the past year due to major overcapacity in Chinese shipyards and the economic slump.

The holding orders of Chinese shipyards dropped 23 percent in the first five months of this year compared with a year earlier, according to the China Association of the National Shipbuilding Industry. New orders meanwhile dropped to a seven-year low in 2012.

“Moreover, Rongsheng has been suffering due to a major receivables past due problem, thus liquidity is a major concern. I think they are being forced to slash their workforce due to the extreme circumstances the company finds itself in.”

The Wall Street Journal said the job cuts at China Rongsheng represented some 40 percent of the firm’s workforce. The cuts sparked protests by workers earlier this week, according to media reports.

China Rongsheng is a major supplier of bulk carriers that ship iron ore from producer nations such as Brazil to China. Brazil"s Valeis one of its customers.

“We expect a continuing deterioration in the balance sheet given weak overall demand growth for bulk vessels, Rongsheng’s core product,” Barclays analyst Jon Windham said in a report.

According to its December 2012 annual report, issued on March 26, China Rongsheng’s cash and cash equivalents fell to 2.1 billion yuan ($342.53 million) from 6.3 billion yuan a year ago. It had borrowings of 16.26 billion yuan that were due in less than a year, said the report, the latest financial statistics available on the company’s website.

China Rongsheng is the country’s largest private shipbuilder by accumulated order books. It is based in eastern Jiangsu province, near Shanghai, and went public in Hong Kong in 2010.

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.

Jiangsu Rongsheng Heavy Industries Group Co., Ltd., one of China"s largest private shipbuilders, will postpone its $2bn listing plan, due to the global financial crisis. However, the firm stressed its shipbuilding orders worth nearly US$1.7bn have not been cancelled.

In August 2008, Rongsheng Heavy Industries entered into a nearly US$1.7 billion shipbuilding contract with the world"s top iron ore supplier, Vale, formerly known as Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (CVRD), for a series of very large ore carriers.

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.

Rongsheng Heavy Industries have admitted that it has delayed payments to suppliers and workers through an official announcement today, in response to a worker protest in its shipyard earlier this week.

“Demand in the global shipbuilding market has continued to decline and prices for new vessels have failed to rebound. Throughout the shipbuilding industry, banks and other financial institutions have tightened credit facilities available to shipbuilders, and many shipowners have delayed, renegotiated or defaulted on payments to shipbuilders. These factors have caused higher pressure on the group’s working capital in recent months, and the group has tightened cash outflow by delaying its payment to its suppliers and workers,” Rongsheng said in the release.

Rongsheng said it is currently in discussions with a number of banks and financial instituations for renewing exisiting credit facilities while it is also actively seeking financial support from the government and the substantial shareholders of the company.

China Rongsheng Heavy Industries Group Holdings Ltd. (1101), 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. Bloomberg reports. Rongsheng, based in Shanghai, has tumbled 86 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. http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-07-30/rongsheng-faces-order-slump-as-sec-probes-chairman-s-companyUpload News

[Press Release]CHINARONGSHENGHEAVYINDUSTRIES’ 400,000 DWT VLOCNAMED AND LAUNCHED* * * *LOWERSCOST FORVALE ANDFORGESLONG-TERMCOOPERATIONFIRSTVLOCS TOBEDELIVERED SOON

(10 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, and Vale S.A. (“Vale”), the largest global iron ore supplier from Brazil, held a naming and launching ceremony on 9 July for the first-ever 400,000 DWT Very Large Ore Carrier (VLOC) built in China. This new VLOC, named “VALE CHINA”, is the first VLOC of a few to be delivered in the coming two years. The new vessel can significantly lower overall delivery costs of iron ore for Vale. The attendance of Vale’s new Chief Executive Officer underscored the long-term cooperation between a major shipbuilder and ship owner.

Mr. Chen Qiang, Chief Executive Officer of China Rongsheng Heavy Industries, and Mr. Murilo Ferreira, the new Chief Executive Officer of Vale, attended the ceremony. The Brazilian ambassadress was the godmother in the naming ceremony. Mr. Chen Qiang said, “The early christening of VLOC as “VALE CHINA” reflected the dedication and importance of the cooperation of both parties, as well as Vale’s strong interest in collaborating with Chinese companies.”

As the largest private shipbuilder in China, China Rongsheng Heavy Industries is one of the few shipbuilders in the world with the ability to build VLOCs of 400,000 DWT or larger. Within its shipbuilding segment, VLOCs account for the highest proportion of the contracts on hand in terms of contract value, thus the naming and launching of “VALE CHINA” has special significance for the Group’s future development.

The 400,000 DWT VLOC launched is currently the world’s largest dry bulk carriers. It is a high-tech vessel self-developed by the Group, representing the world’s most advanced technology in very large bulk carriers. The vessel’s main engine was self-built by China Rongsheng Heavy Industries, which is a low-speed diesel engine with the maximum power manufactured by Chinese enterprise independently so far.

As the largest iron ore supplier and exporter in the world, Vale is not only one of China"s major iron ore suppliers, but also the largest customer of China Rongsheng Heavy Industries. This visit fully affirmed the capability of China Rongsheng Heavy Industries in constructing very large vessel. Vale is seeking to enhance production capacity to meet the increasing demand from Asia. After the delivery of the 400,000

10 July 2011 / Page 3Photo 1: Mr. Chen Qiang, Chief Executive Officer of China Rongsheng HeavyIndustries, giving a speech in the naming and launching ceremonyPhoto 2: The naming and launching ceremony ofChina’s first-ever 400,000 DWT VLOC “VALE CHINA”

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:China Rongsheng Heavy Industries Group Holdings Limited