China approves merger of shipbuilders CSSC and CSIC

China’s State Council has given the green light for the merger of the country’s two largest state-owned shipbuilding giants, Shanghai-based China State Shipbuilding Corp (CSSC) and Dalian-based China Shipbuilding Industry Co (CSIC).

The decision was disclosed in a statement from the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council.

The two will merge into one corporation, which will be administered by the commission.

Thus far there’s no indication of a time table for the merger.

The merger is set to create a shipbuilding giant with a combined revenue up to 1 trillion yuan (US$141.5 billion), according to Asian media reports.

There’s long been speculation that the merger was in the works. What may have created the impetus needed to make it actually happen is China’s need for greater efficiency in naval shipbuilding.

The South China Morning Post, citing figures from Clarksons Research, reports that CSSC ranks as the No. 2 shipbuilder worldwide, completing 9.25 million tons last year for an 11.5% share. Third-place CSIC came in third place worldwide, completing 6.02 million tons, a 7.5% share.