China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) and China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (CSIC) have once again begun operating as a single entity after two decades.
The two state-owned shipbuilders, which had become separate companies partly due to geographic considerations, are now formally recognised as one conglomerate under the name China Shipbuilding Group effective Tuesday, November 26.
The merger was initially announced by both companies through their respective stock exchange filings in July 2019, almost exactly 20 years since CSIC was spun off from CSSC to undertake shipbuilding activities in the north and west of China. CSSC then exclusively handled shipyards south of the Yangtze River.
Chinese state media has reported that the new conglomerate is now the world's largest shipbuilder.
China Shipbuilding Group executives hope the merger of the two companies will make the Chinese shipbuilding sector more competitive in serving global customers.
