Beijing may revamp unit of private shipbuilder

[HONG KONG] China Rongsheng Heavy Industries Group Ltd, the private Chinese shipbuilder whose woes made it a symbol of the country's credit binge, confirmed the government is studying a possible restructuring of its Jiangsu unit.

The maker of bulk carriers and oil tankers has been notified by a government authority that it had hired an independent third party to consider and potentially restructure Jiangsu Rongsheng Heavy Industries Co, the Shanghai-based company told the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Sunday.

The statement comes after the Jiangsu shipyard belonging to China's second-largest private shipyard was listed among 51 shipbuilding facilities deemed worthy of policy support in a Ministry of Industry and Information Technology document dated Sept 3. Rongsheng's struggles illustrate the difficulties private shipbuilders face in competing with state-owned yards that have government backing and easier access to financing.