2 Years May be for Chinese Shipbuilding Industry to Revive

BEIJING, Apr. 9 -- Chinese experts call on shipbuilding enterprises to get ready for market bearishness and the government to work out necessary policies as they hold it will take at least two years for the industry to revive from the global financial crisis.

    These experts from shipbuilding industry, banks and government organs gathered here this week to discuss the outlook of the industry and necessary countermeasures.

    According to Zhu Rujing, an adviser to China Shipbuilding Center, a depression in shipbuilding market usually lasts longer than a global financial crisis, as indicated by the previous five bust cycles of the industry.

    "If the global economy recovers in a year, the depression in shipbuilding industry would run for at least three years, or even five years, atop two to three or more years' depression in the shipping market," he said.

    You Shumin, an official with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), said that China's shipbuilding industry has not fully felt the impact of the global financial crisis and urged competent authorities to closely follow the implementation of the shipbuilding booster plan and work out policy in advance.

    "The Baltic Dry Index (BDI) is still fluctuating at a low level despite the rebound from the lowest last year, and the global shipping market is unlikely to embrace an overall revival," she said.

    Zhu Xinqiang, vice president of China Exim Bank, predicted that the global shipping market would linger at the bottom this year, but the prospect for the next two years is not promising.

    Zhu said that shipbuilders would face difficulties in making delivery, getting new orders and seeking financiers in the coming three years.

    (Source: chinamining.org)