Russian Financial Corporation (RFC) plans to buy up to six shipyards this year, possibly partly financed through a bond issue, but has no plans to float its ship-building business, its chairman said on Tuesday, Economictimes reports.
Ship-building and engineering firm RFC currently owns three shipyards in Russia, all bought with money from existing shareholders. But the Moscow-based company, in which Chairman Andrey Kiselev holds 71 percent, wants to attract more private investors to fund expansion and modernisation.
RFC plans to consolidate the shipyards into one company, because the only way to prosper in the Russian shipbuilding industry is to control at least two-thirds of the market, Kiselev said. But there are no plans to sell the consolidated ship-building business in an initial public offering.
"We see an IPO as one of the ways of attracting additional funding, but at the moment we don't have that in our current plans," Kiselev told Reuters in an interview in London.
"We do not exclude issuing bonds," he said, adding that even the most modern shipyards in RFC's sights needed some $10-15 million of investment to upgrade them.
"The majority of Russian shipyards do need some modernisation."
RFC is to concentrate on building vessels of up to 15,000 tonnes, many of which will be built to run on liquefied natural gas (LNG), a cleaner alternative to fuel oil, and the company has no plans to start building larger oil tankers, he said.
The company is currently in negotiations with the Indian government about a contract to develop India's river system for more effective public and cargo transport use, and would be keen to expand in other parts of Asia or Latin America, with the right government support.
"More and more governments are realising the ecological benefits," he said.
"River transport is a lot more environmentally friendly."
Ship-building and engineering firm RFC currently owns three shipyards in Russia, all bought with money from existing shareholders. But the Moscow-based company, in which Chairman Andrey Kiselev holds 71 percent, wants to attract more private investors to fund expansion and modernisation.
RFC plans to consolidate the shipyards into one company, because the only way to prosper in the Russian shipbuilding industry is to control at least two-thirds of the market, Kiselev said. But there are no plans to sell the consolidated ship-building business in an initial public offering.
"We see an IPO as one of the ways of attracting additional funding, but at the moment we don't have that in our current plans," Kiselev told Reuters in an interview in London.
"We do not exclude issuing bonds," he said, adding that even the most modern shipyards in RFC's sights needed some $10-15 million of investment to upgrade them.
"The majority of Russian shipyards do need some modernisation."
RFC is to concentrate on building vessels of up to 15,000 tonnes, many of which will be built to run on liquefied natural gas (LNG), a cleaner alternative to fuel oil, and the company has no plans to start building larger oil tankers, he said.
The company is currently in negotiations with the Indian government about a contract to develop India's river system for more effective public and cargo transport use, and would be keen to expand in other parts of Asia or Latin America, with the right government support.
"More and more governments are realising the ecological benefits," he said.
"River transport is a lot more environmentally friendly."