CSSC Profits Boom

China State Shipbuilding Corp (CSSC) profits almost tripled last year as it boosted output and improved production efficiency, according to chinadaily.com. Net income surpassed $1.93b last year, skyrocketing from 5.2 billion yuan in 2006. It finished 6.55 million deadweight tons of vessels in the past year and received a record order of more than 23 million dwt of ships worldwide, which put its overall amount for orders yet to deliver beyond 50 million dwt. By occupying the global shipbuilding market of 7.5 percent, 10 percent and another 10 percent in ship construction, new orders and total orders respectively; CSSC shrank the gap between itself and the world's largest shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries Co of South Korea, maintaining the second place for two consecutive years. CInvested by CSSC jointly with Baosteel Group, Shanghai Jiangnan-Changxing Shipbuilding's production base in Changxing Island in Shanghai will be inaugurated on June 3, CSSC said yesterday. It may boost CSSC's annual production capacity to 7 million dwt. CSSC is also trying to design and develop luxury cruise liners, which are produced only by European shipbuilders at present.