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HONG KONG, Nov 26 (Reuters) - China Rongsheng Heavy Industries Group, the country’s largest private shipbuilder, said its chairman had stepped down just three months after the company posted its sharpest fall in half-year net profit.

Zhang Zhirong quit to devote more time to his personal interests and will be replaced by the company’s chief executive officer, Chen Qiang, effective immediately, the company said on Monday in a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange.

Listed in November 2010, Rongsheng was hit by an insider dealing scandal involving a firm owned by Zhang ahead of the $15.1 billion bid for Canadian oil firm Nexen Inc by China offshore oil and gas producer CNOOC.

Rongsheng said earlier this month that investment firm Well Advantage, controlled by Zhang, had agreed to pay $14 million as part of a settlement deal with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

In August, Rongsheng posted an 82 percent drop in half-year profit on a dearth of new orders and warned economic uncertainties would continue to weigh on the global shipping market.

As part of the changes at China Rongsheng, the company said that Zhang De Huang was retiring and had resigned as an executive director and as vice chairman of the board.

SINGAPORE, Oct 14 (Reuters) - Rongsheng Petrochemical, the trading arm of Chinese private refiner Zhejiang Petrochemical, has bought at least 5 million barrels of crude for delivery in December and January next year in preparation for starting a new crude unit by year-end, five trade sources said on Wednesday.

Rongsheng bought at least 3.5 million barrels of Upper Zakum crude from the United Arab Emirates and 1.5 million barrels of al-Shaheen crude from Qatar via a tender that closed on Tuesday, the sources said.

Rongsheng’s purchase helped absorbed some of the unsold supplies from last month as the company did not purchase any spot crude in past two months, the sources said.

Zhejiang Petrochemical started up the first phase of its complex which includes a 400,000-bpd refinery and a 1.2 million tonne-per-year ethylene plant at the end of 2019. (Reporting by Florence Tan and Chen Aizhu, editing by Louise Heavens and Christian Schmollinger)

The No 4 dock at Jiangsu Rongsheng Heavy Industries Co Ltd"s Nantong shipbuilding base on May 26, 2012. With a dimension of 139.5*580m，the dock is equipped with a 1600-T gantry crane, the world"s largest. [Photo/chinadaily.com.cn]

China Rongsheng Heavy Industries Group Holdings Ltd, the nation"s largest private shipbuilder, may seek "cooperation with one or two ship builders" in 2013 or 2014, grasping the opportunity emerging from an industry recession, according to Xu Yifei, assistant president of Jiangsu Rongsheng.

In response to this round of recession, Rongsheng has been actively upgrading technology and design. It has also put more focus on the offshore engineering sector to further diversify its business.

Rongsheng is setting up its offshore engineering company in Singapore, aiming to take advantage of Singapore"s technology and existing market to deepen its penetration in the global offshore engineering market, according to Xu.

The company entered the marine engineering sector years ago. China"s first deepwater pipe-laying crane vessel, known as Hai Yang Shi You 201, was built by Rongsheng. The vessel can lay pipes at depths of 3000 meters and lift 4000 metric tons and will operate at the South China Sea"s Liwan 3-1 gas field.

Rongsheng"s president, Chen Qiang, said in an earlier interview that he hoped orders from marine engineering will make up about 40 percent of the company"s new orders this year.

A view of the Rongsheng Heavy Industries shipyard is seen in Nantong, Jiangsu province December 4, 2013. 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. Picture taken December 4, 2013. (c) REUTERS/Aly Song

RUGAO, China/SINGAPORE, Dec 6 (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.

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 authorised 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 Shipbuilding has secured 50, according to shipbroker data. Singapore-listed Yangzijiang Shipbuilding has 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 Inc has 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 tonnes – 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 privatise Hong Kong-listed Glorious Property Holdings in 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 centres, 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.

Rongsheng has borrowed billions of dollars in debt since its launch in 2005, fueling a rapid expansion that has made it one of China"s biggest three shipbuilders. But a global slowdown in demand for new vessels over the past few years has hit the firm hard.

In July Rongsheng, which is owned by private investors, said it was in discussions with a number of banks about "renewing existing credit facilities." The company also said it has reached an accord with a company controlled by key shareholder

"From design to construction [of new refining capacities], we are fully committed to the new technologies to control environmental pollution. Going forward, any new investment that we are going to make will be more efficient in environment protection," said Chen Hongbing, deputy general manager with privately-held Rongsheng Petrochemical (Singapore).

Rongsheng"s Chen said the refiner"s business strategy is always driven by economics, but the industry expects emissions regulations to lower China"s exports and more research is needed to assess whether cross-border carbon taxes will fully halt refined products exports or only impact a small volume.

"I believe, at the end of the day, the government will still encourage the refiners and the prices of the exports are subject to economics," Chen said.

It remains unclear when the refining and petrochemicals companies will be fully enrolled into the carbon market, Chen said on the sidelines of the conference.

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China Rongsheng Heavy Industries has delivered its first 380,000 dwt very large ore carrier (VLOC), a high-tech vessel, to Brazilian mining firm Vale.

In July 2011 the VLOC was named ‘Vale China’ and Rongsheng Heavy claims it is the world’s largest dry bulk carrier with the largest cargo capacity, as well as incorporating the group’s most advanced shipbuilding technology.

China Rongsheng Heavy Industries had developed its main engine, the 7RT-flex 82T, while its marine engine building division Hefei Rongan Power Machinery built it.

China Rongsheng CEO Chen Qiang said Vale China represents the most advanced bulk carrier in the world and the technologies needed for building the vessel are far more challenging than those for building the typical 200,000 dwt VLOCs.

In 2009, the Brazilian mining firm also said it would rent four VLOCs of the same type from Oman Shipping which planned to be built by China Rongsheng.