Yangzijiang rises on building deals for 14 vessels worth US$715m

Singapore

INDEX stock Yangzijiang Shipbuilding rose after the group announced on Wednesday that it had recently secured agreements to build and deliver 14 vessels with a total contract value of US$715 million.

The stock rose to an intra-day high of S$1.45. Shares of Yangzijiang closed at S$1.39 on Thursday, up one Singapore cent or 0.73 per cent.

A married deal of 50 shares at S$1.40 was made at 8.30am on Thursday, showed ShareInvestor data.

Of Yangzijiang's 14 new orders, three vessels ordered by a German shipowner are 40,000 cubic metre (cu m) liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) vessels, said the group in a bourse filing.

Executive chairman and chief executive officer of the group Ren Letian said that its maiden batch of

40,000 cu m LPG carriers marks a breakthrough for the group and is a recognition of its "strengths in the design and building of clean-energy vessels".

"Yangzijiang remains fully committed to sustainable development, and will continue its relentless pursuit to ensure that we build relevant vessels with greater energy efficiency through investments and our continued emphasis on research and development," he said.

The three vessels will be built and delivered by the group's joint-venture arm, Yangzi-Mitsui Shipbuilding, the group said. Other new orders include one 9,150 deadweight tonnage (DWT) chemical tanker, one 29,800 DWT self-loading bulk carrier, two 2,400 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) container ships, five 3,500 TEU container ships and two 11,800 TEU container ships. These new orders will be delivered between 2022 and 2024.

With the latest contracts, Yangzijiang has secured orders for a total of 89 vessels worth US$4.72 billion since the start of this year, excluding the quantity and value of option orders. This marks Yangzijiang's largest number of order wins by total contract value since 2008. The group expressed optimism at securing more orders amid "favourable market sentiments".