Vinashin ups equitisation to get ahead

17:05' 02/05/2008 (GMT+7)
The Viet Nam Shipbuilding Industry Group (Vinashin) said it will finalise procedures to equitise its four leading subsidiaries by the end of the second quarter in a bid to sharpen its competitiveness.
Those subsidiaries include the Nam Ha Shipbuilding Co, Can Tho Maritime Transportation Co, Phu Yen Shipbuilding Industry Complex and the Quang Binh Shipbuilding Industry Complex, the country's largest shipbuilder said.
Vinashin, which has already equitised six subsidiaries in the first quarter, said it plans to kick off the equitisation of 12 subsidiaries by the end of the year.
The Ha Noi-based industry giant announced earlier this month that it earned a revenue of VND5.1tril (US$318.7mil) in the first quarter of the year, an increase of 108% over last year.
The nation's largest shipbuilder attributed the boom in business to its strategy of progressive reinvestment, which helped to enhance its production capacity.
In the first three months of the year, Vinashin built as many as 50 large vessels ranging from 4,000 DWT to 105,000 DWT (dead weight tonnes) as well as dozens of smaller vessels for either private use or maritime transport.
The company, which has 40 subsidiaries, recruited an additional 7,000 labourers in the first-quarter. It is now one of the Vietnam's biggest employers with a total workforce of 78,500 employees.
So far Vinashin, which hopes to earn VND40tril this year, has secured contracts with both domestic and foreign clients worth a total of $12bil.
The Ha Noi-based company signed 22 contracts worth $2bil at the shipping exhibition Vietship last month.
The contracts covered-shipbuilding, maritime transport, developing ancillary industries, as well as financing and insurance.
According to Vinashin, sea-related industries represent 53-55% of Vietnam's GDP, and around 60% of total export turnover.
The company is now the fifth largest shipbuilder in the world, according to Fairplay, a UK-based international shipping magazine.
In an effort to maintain its dominant market position, Vinashin, which brought in $2.5bil last year, plans to increase its localisation rate to 65% by 2015.