A proposed merger of China’s two largest shipbuilding firms has passed the first round of approval from the state council, sources told Bloomberg, a project that would give China greatly increased clout over competitors in the region.
The two companies, China State Shipbuilding Corp. and China Shipbuilding Industry Corp., have a combined revenue of over RMB 508 billion ($81 billion), more than twice current industry leaders in South Korea such as Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co.
Developments remain in the early stages, however, with some subunits of the two companies still unaware of talks between the two parent companies, the sources said.