rongsheng heavy industries group for sale

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.

Shanghai: Hong Kong-listed Chinese shipyard Rongsheng Heavy Industries, which has officially changed its name to China Huarong Energy, has announced that it is in advanced talks with a listed company in China regarding the sale of the shipyard’s assets.

Rongsheng said the negotiations are currently under good progress and the group has already obtained letters of consent from various major creditor banks, according to which the major creditor banks have conditionally agreed to various matters in relation to the disposal of assets and liabilities of the yard.

(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.

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.

Huarong Energy, formerly known as Rongsheng Heavy Industries, which was China’s largest privately owned shipbuilder, sold the assets to the bond holder for HK$1.

China Huarong Energy, which was rebranded from Rongsheng Heavy Industries in 2015, announced Monday it had completed the sale of its shipbuilding assets.

The company agreed in October to sell 98.5 percent interest equity of Rongsheng Heavy Industries and the entire interests in Rongsheng Engineering Machinery, Rongsheng Power Machinery and Rongsheng Marine Engineering Petroleum Services to the investment firm Unique Orient Ltd. for HK$1 (13 cents). The sale, which took place Sunday, also included 12.9 billion yuan ($1.9 billion) of the company’s debt, according to Lloyd’s List.

Rongsheng was once the largest privately run Chinese shipbuilder, but stopped shipbuilding operations in 2014 after a financial crisis during market recessions.

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.

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.

“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 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.

"The Potential Transaction shall adjust and optimize the assets and business of the Group, and divest the relevant assets and liabilities of the shipbuilding business and offshore engineering business, which shall help to ease the debt burden of the Group, enhance the flexibility of fund utilization, better implement the strategy of business transformation and transformation into an energy service provider focusing in the oil and natural gas market," said the company.

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.

HONG KONG, Dec 4 (Reuters) - China Rongsheng Heavy Industries Group, the country"s largest private shipbuilder, said on Wednesday it expects to report a substantial full-year loss just months after it appealed to the government for financial help.

"The company believes that the net loss is primarily attributable to the decrease in revenue as a result of the company"s conservative sales strategy under the current trough stage of the shipbuilding market," China Rongsheng said in a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange.

Greek ship owner Dryships Inc has already questioned whether some of the ships on order at China Rongsheng will be delivered, which could hit its revenue and profitability next year.

Dryships has four dry bulk carriers on order at the company"s shipbuilding subsidiary, Jiangsu Rongsheng Heavy Industries, that are due for delivery in 2014.

China Rongsheng, which sought financial help from the government in July, has said it won only two shipbuilding orders worth $55.6 million last year when its target was $1.8 billion worth of contracts.

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.

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.