Yangzijiang bags US$162m in new orders from Hong Kong container shipping firm

MAINBOARD-LISTED Yangzijiang Shipbuilding has entered into an agreement with Hong Kong container shipping firm SITC International Holdings Co to build and deliver six 2,600 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) containerships for some US$162 million.

The six vessels will be delivered in 2022 to 2023, the Chinese shipbuilder said in a press statement on Monday.

Additionally, the new orders were placed together with four option orders for identical vessels at the same unit price, Yangzijiang noted. The option orders are to be exercised in two batches of two vessels each.

The latest announcement comes after Yangzijiang similarly inked agreements for orders worth about US$226 million in November, and obtained another US$126 million in new orders back in August.

With the latest order win, the group has secured new orders for 49 vessels worth about US$1.42 billion so far this year, excluding the value of option orders, the group said.

Ren Letian, executive chairman and chief executive of the group, noted that the recent rising demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG) in China has given Yangzijiang "additional confidence in the prospects for LNG vessels".

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"We are confident that we will maintain the order win momentum following the improved market sentiment," he said.

Yangzijiang shares were trading at 94 Singapore cents as at 1pm on Monday, up 0.5 cent or 0.5 per cent.