Back in 2008, Rongsheng Heavy Industries Co failed in its bid to raise more than $2 billion from a planned IPO in Hong Kong, mainly due to the global financial crisis. But things are looking up again for the company as it is looking to list in the city this week.

Sources say that the company is finalizing its plans, and it has appointed Morgan Stanley and JP Morgan as it advisors.

Meanwhile, China's biggest private shipbuilder Jiangsu Rongsheng Heavy Industries Co, which last year won a $484 million order to build four vessels for Oman Shipping Company, is also gaining significant exposure to the engineering machinery market via its expansion company, Rong'an Heavy Industries.

Founded by Rongsheng, Rong'an Heavy Industries was established in March of this year at the Hefei hi-tech industrial area in Anhui province. With a total investment of 60 million yuan, the new firm plans an annual output of 3 million hydraulic excavators, 1,000 crawler cranes, 5,000 tower cranes, 17,860 truck cranes and 500 rotary drilling rigs. The output is worth some 300 billion yuan. And from previously being one of the lower-ranking engineering machinery production bases in China, Hefei is now one of the largest.

"We are planning to begin operations in June next year," said Deng Hui, president of Rong'an Power Machinery Co Ltd, another Rongsheng engineering machinery market investment.

Set up in Hefei in August 2007, mainly producing marine diesel engines and parts, its output value can reach an annual total of 100 billion yuan.

Rongsheng Heavy Industries is a large-scale heavy industry enterprise group that possesses manufacturing bases for shipbuilding and offshore engineering in Nantong, Jiangsu province. It also manufactures diesel engines in Hefei.

China Daily

(HK Edition 10/12/2010 page3)