China Will Base New Shipbuilding Giant in Shanghai

What’s new: The merger of China’s two largest state-owned shipbuilding conglomerates entered the substantive operation phase, and the combined group is moving its headquarters to Shanghai.

The new headquarters will be at the site of the former Jiangnan Shipyard in Shanghai’s historic center Puxi, a person at China State Shipbuilding Corp. Ltd. (CSSC) said.

A group of CSSC officials met with leaders of Shanghai’s Huangpu District Monday and signed a strategic cooperation agreement with the district government Tuesday.

The background: CSSC and China Shipbuilding Industry Corp. (CSIC) are combining to form China Shipping Group under a joint restructuring plan approved by the State Council, according to statements issued in May by CSSC’s two Shanghai-listed units.

CSIC and CSSC were one conglomerate until 1999, when they were split in two. With China’s Yangtze River as a loose border, CSSC and CSIC operated businesses in the country’s south and north, respectively.

CSSC received 232 new ship orders with 18.4 million deadweight tons (DWT) in the first half, making it the world’s largest shipbuilder, the company said in its performance announcement July 5.

Since 2015, Beijing has been pursuing efforts to consolidate the country’s bloated state-owned sector to pare down leverage and increase global competiveness. Most of China’s major state-owned enterprises were carved out of former monopolies that executed Beijing’s directives when the country’s economy was subject to a greater degree of central planning than today.

Quick Takes are condensed versions of China-related stories for fast news you can use. To read the full story in Chinese, click here.

Contact reporter Denise Jia (huijuanjia@caixin.com) and editor Bob Simison (bobsimison@caixin.com)

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