CIMC buys stake in Yantai Raffles

Brian Chang, chairman of Yantai Raffles Shipyard Limited (YRSL) has signed an agreement to sell approximately 29.9% of YRSL’s issued share capital to China International Marine Containers (Group). The deal, valued at $566m, is slated for completion in third quarter of this year and is conditional upon CIMC obtaining necessary governmental approvals.

Chang, who will retain a 14.3% total interest (direct and indirect) in YRSL and intends to remain active at the yard till al least 2012, said, “‘My vision has been, and continues to be, for YRSL to be the yard of choice for the construction of large offshore marine vessels and to be the number one yard in the world. We have made excellent progress in developing the yard’s infrastructure over the past few years, and we are now paying close attention to securing increased production capacity, and strengthening our engineering and manufacturing capabilities to be best-in-class worldwide.”

Together with CIMC, YRSL has already identified several key areas where it could expect to benefit significantly from CIMC’s deep expertise. These areas include procurement, outsourcing, advanced manufacturing processes and broadening the opportunities for domestic sales.