Genting Hong Kong to buy own shipyards in Germany

CRUISE-SHIP operator Genting Hong Kong said on Wednesday it plans to spend HK$1.99 billion (S$358 million) to acquire, through its various units, its own cruise shipbuilding yards from a Germany-based ship manufacturer.

Under an agreement with Nordic Yards, Genting Hong Kong will snap up the premises used for the three shipyards in Wismar, Warnemunde and Stralsund, as well as the corresponding assets required by the group for the construction of cruise ships at the three shipyards.

"The rapid growth of the world cruise industry, especially in China, has led to global cruise ship orders reaching an all-time high," said Genting Hong Kong, which runs Star Cruises, in a regulatory statement.

"As a consequence, the group faces the potential risk of being unable to obtain sufficient cruise ship building slots at acceptable prices to implement its planned 10 year cruise ship fleet strategy for its three cruise brands. In order to address this risk, it is strategic that the group acquire its own cruise shipbuilding yards to build its cruise fleet, freeing management to focus on design, planning and deployment of its planned cruise ship fleet."