China’s two giant shipbuilding corporations – the China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (CSIC) and China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) – have confirmed that they plan to merge.
The two groups, which have combined assets of about USD120 billion and employ 240,000 people, dominate naval shipbuilding in China and between them operate 160 subsidiaries.
The merger was announced by the two state-owned corporations’ eight listed subsidiaries on 2 July, although details – including schedules – were not disclosed. CSSC’s listed division, CSSC Holdings, said, “CSSC is planning a strategic restructuring with the China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation.
China’s CSSC and CSIC have announced plans to merge. The two corporations dominate China’s programmes to build strategic naval assets including its third aircraft carrier (pictured above, centre, in a computer-generated image). (Via China Daily)
“It is determined that the plan also needs to be approved by the relevant authorities. In order to ensure timely and fair disclosure of information and safeguard the interests of investors [the merger] is now announced.”
The state-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council (SASAC) – China’s principal merger-approving authority – is understood to have been negotiating combining the corporations for several months.
CSSC and CSIC were originally part of a larger CSSC until the government split the corporation into two groups in 1999 in line with geographical locations. In general terms, CSSC maintained control of shipyards in the south while CSIC is responsible for those in the north.
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