Yangzijiang Shipbuilding in Early Talks on Rongsheng Investment

China's Yangzijiang Shipbuilding Holdings Ltd is considering a possible investment in troubled peer China Huarong Energy Co Ltd , formerly known as China Rongsheng, its executive chairman said on Thursday.

 

Ren Yuanlin said the company was still in early talks with stakeholders, and expected to make a decision on the investment by end-June.

 

"The government, banks, and Rongsheng's major shareholder all hope we can be part of the deal, but whether or not we will get in depends on the asset price," he told reporters at a post-earnings briefing in Singapore, where the company is listed.

 

"We are not interested in anyone else but Rongsheng."

 

Yangzijiang, in which Ren owns a 26 percent stake and is the biggest shareholder, is one of China's biggest shipbuilders, and the country's most profitable listed shipyard.

 

Hong Kong-listed China Rongsheng recently changed its name to China Huarong after expanding into oil and gas development and production. It is one of China's largest private shipbuilders, and has been struggling with high debt and a slowdown in the shipbuilding industry in recent years.

 

Yangzijiang reported earlier in the day that its first quarter net profit dropped 12 percent, as investment income and shipbuilding revenue both weakened.