China Shipping Group wades into shipbuilding waters

China Shipping Group wades into shipbuilding waters    China Shipping Group, the second-biggest ocean transportation conglomerate in China, plans to build its first shipyard by the end of 2008, the Chinese daily Xinhua reported Thursday.
   'The Shanghai-based shipping group spent 3.8 billion yuan ($493 million) taking over the assets and debts of the Jiangdu Shipping Co. in east China's Zhejiang Province and renamed the wholly owned subsidiary China Shipping Industrial Co. (Jiangsu),' the newspaper reported. 'Ground for the new shipyard — expected to cover an area of 187 hectares and stretch 3,500 meters along the coastline — has already been broken in the Yanjiang Development Zone of Jiangdu. On completion, the new shipyard is expected to achieve annual sales revenue of 10 billion yuan ($1.3 billion) and generate a yearly tax revenue for the government of more than 1 billion yuan ($129 million).'
   China Shipping Group's existing six dockyards in Shanghai and Guangzhou only engage in ship repairs, ship conversions and hull maintenance.