SOCAR Acquires 65 Percent of Stake in Shipbuilding Factory

Within the visit of Prime Minister Han Seung-soo to , Memorandum on creation of Caspian Shipbuilding Factory was signed.
State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) President Rovnag Abdullayev said the Memorandum has been signed between SOCAR, Korean STX and Azerbaijan Investment Company (AIC).
STX that has initiated the project offers parity distribution of the project shares between all the shareholders – STX itself, Azerbaijan Investment Company (AIC), State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR), and Azerbaijan State Caspian Shipping Company (Kaspar).
insisted that STX should acquire an equity stake of at least 35% of shares to make the latter to be more interested in the project operatorship and to raise more investments from abroad.
Under the primary feasibility study, the Factory was estimated at $400 million. In accordance with world practice 30% of the project cost will be financed at the expense of shareholders and 70% will be raised. At the same time STX will undertake project management and construct the factory under turnkey.
closureness makes construction of the factory over here justified. The sides are still going to construct tankers with displacement of up to 30,000 tons for four Caspian states (excluding position of which is unknown).
The Project presentation should have been conducted in before the end of 2007. The Factory will be able to produce whole spectrum of ships – from yachts to large tankers.
The Memorandum on Shipbuilding Factory was signed in on April 24, 2007. Under the Memo, AIC is ready to acquire 25% equity stake in the project.
The Factory will be oriented to repair ships including tankers to carry Kazakh and Turkmen oil. That will be a single factory in but its capacity will depend on portfolio of orders.
Source:  ABC.az