Nantong Xiangyu Offshore Equipment has taken over bankrupt shipyard Nantong Heavy Industry for RMB576m ($83.8m) through an online auction on Taobao on Saturday.
The auction was the fifth for Mingde Heavy Industry and the starting price was lowered to RMB570m from the original price of RMB1.58bn.
Nantong Xiangyu Offshore Equipment is a joint venture between state run logistics and supply chain investment company Xiamen Xiangyu Group (36%), Nantong Wangzhe Shipbuilding (30%) and China Ocean Industry (24%), with the remaining 10% held by trust fund established by the three parties.
China Ocean Industry announced the jv at the end of December and said it would consider diverting its shipbuilding business to Nantong which offers a lower cost of material procurement and transportation.
Xiamen Xiangyu Group said it plans to expand its business into petrochemical transportation via building a tanker fleet at Mingde Heavy Industry, which was once a leading shipyard for chemical tankers.
Xiamen Xiangyu Group established a joint venture, Xiangyu Petroleum, in June 2016 to join the supply chain business in the energy sector.
