Cosco to invest in overseas repair yards

COSCO Shipyard Group’s (CSG) main shareholder, Cosco Corp, has plans to buy foreign ship repair yards as China is getting too expensive. CSG itself has become a major shipbuilder bagging $6.6bn of orders since it moved into newbuilds at the start of last year. According to Ji Hai Sheng, president of Cosco Corp and also chairman of CSG, it is facing higher labour costs, particularly following China’s new labour laws, which were promulgated at the start of 2008. He said ship repair was highly labour intensive. “We are really looking to the future for overseas expansion,” Ji said, adding that he wanted to buy into existing facilities rather than taking the Greenfield option. Cosco Group has been in negotiations in the Philippines about investing in yards and ports there.