The shipbuilding and maintenance arm of state-owned marine transport giant China Cosco Shipping has completed initial public offering (IPO) guidance registration, paving the way for a domestic listing to capitalise on a global shipbuilding boom.
Cosco Shipping Heavy Industry finished its pre-IPO registration and preparations, according to information released on the China Securities Regulatory Commission website on Saturday.
Specialising in cargo and container vessels, the unit offers construction, repair, conversion, maintenance and offshore engineering services. It is wholly owned by China Cosco Shipping, headquartered in Shanghai.
Operating nine shipyards across Shanghai, Nantong, Dalian and southern China, Cosco Shipping Heavy Industry commands a dominant market share in repairing and converting ships into floating facilities for the offshore oil and gas industry.
Operating revenue reached nearly 40 billion yuan (US$6 billion) in 2024, with profits of 3 billion yuan. Revenue for 2025 soared 22 per cent.
Company data showed that in 2025 it secured new shipbuilding orders for 79 vessels worth 41.3 billion yuan and delivered 62 vessels totalling 6.31 million deadweight tonnes (DWT). Its order book stood at 216 vessels amounting to 24.77 million DWT at the end of 2025.
The IPO is expected to ride a new upwards cycle in global shipbuilding despite prolonged disruption to transit through the Strait of Hormuz, as deliveries fail to meet robust demand.
Global newbuilding orders in the first half of 2026 hit 137.4 million DWT, surging more than 125 per cent year on year, according to data from maritime consultancy Clarksons.
Chinese shipbuilders continue to capture the largest market share on the strength of complete industrial chains, green technology adoption and efficient delivery.
The order book of Chinese shipyards represented 66.8 per cent of the global total in 2025, according to the China Association of the National Shipbuilding Industry.
For the first half of 2026, total orders for Chinese shipyards reached 363.25 million DWT, up 54.9 per cent year on year.
New orders totalled 121.06 million DWT, a 173 per cent year-on-year rise, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
China continues to secure most new orders globally for the three mainstream vessel types: bulk carriers, container ships and oil tankers.
Cosco Shipping executives said in May that the US-Israel war on Iran and operators’ strategy to bypass the Middle East chokepoint by using longer routes created additional demand for larger vessels and multimodal transport.
Cosco Shipping, one of the world’s largest marine logistics firms, was formed in 2016 through a merger between Cosco Group and China Shipping Group.
The expected listing aligns with Beijing’s broader push to form industrial conglomerates by consolidating operations to enhance global competitiveness.
In 2025, China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) absorbed China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation in a 115 billion yuan deal, creating a flagship listed entity, CSSC Holdings, which now has a market capitalisation nearing 300 billion yuan.
Source: South China Morning Post