MILAN, Sep 13 (Class Editori) – China Merchants, perhaps the largest Chinese public conglomerate with activities ranging from banks to shipyards, to port and infrastructure management, is tightening relations with Italy on several aspects. While in Turkey, Chinese managers, at the head of a companies consortium, are negotiating with Astaldi to acquire the 33% shareholding in the management company of the Bosphorus Bridge – which Italians have built together with the Turkish group Ic Yatirim, current majority shareholder (67%) – in Italy CMIT-Europe, based in Ravenna, the first European branch of the Chinese group, entered into full operation and looks for new suppliers in Italy and Europe.
China Merchants, based and listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, is among the state owned companies one of the most committed to the strategy linked to the Belt & Road Initiative. It manages as many as 20 ports out of the 52 currently included in the New Silk Road around the world, and it is second in the world, and first in China, in maritime transport activities. In 2018, it recorded a turnover of 91 billion dollars with 20 billion of net profit.
In Turkey, a strategic country on the Silk Road, Astaldi, in financial difficulties, and currently under the management of a commissioner, aims at concluding the sale to have a substantial capital gain. However, China Merchants, would like 100% of the bridge management company, an important infrastructure in the connections between Europe and Asia.
Market sources speak of a 100% valuation of the management company at around 1.4 billion dollars.
In Italy, just over a year after its establishment in the spring of 2018, the activity of CMIT-Europe, the name of the group company based in Ravenna under the direction of the CEO, Stefano Schiavo, focused on naval engineering, aimed at both the oil & gas and cruise sectors.
In the cruise ship market, China Merchants has a business model that is completely different from that of other major global contractors such as Fincantieri, Meyer Werft and Stx France. "The production model of China Merchants includes the supply of only the cruise ship," explained Schiavo, CEO of China Merchants in Italy, "that of China Merchants is completely integrated and involves the construction of the port terminal, design, construction and operating the ship".
China Merchants is building what will be the world's largest cruise ship shipyard in China. A production hub inspired by the Italian model of Melfi, where the entire production chain will be integrated as much as possible with an area near the site for the settlements of the companies active in the related sector.
"Companies are concluding agreements, including with Italian ones, to have everything we need to be able to build what must be embarked and assembled on cruise ships. On terms and establishment in China, the group is completetly available so that Italian companies can structure themselves in the best way with direct investments, licensing, royalties, and more".
The Chinese huge shipyard will have a 630 meter long dry dock, 68 wide and 16 deep, the structure that will contain it will be completely covered and will have a length of 680 meters, a width of 170 and a height of 97. A naval-mechanical hub that will allow two cruise ships of 250,000 gross tons to be built simultaneously and indoors.
Cmit-Europe, in addition to following and giving its support for all these projects, is currently participating in a tender (for the part of interior and exterior design) for the construction of ten coastal ships for the Shenzhen Bay and Hong Kong.
"We are also in contact with various Italian shipowners because the situation of our fleets, especially in light of the imminent entry into force of the IMO 2020 legislation, is what it is. We have a very old fleet, "explained Schiavo. "China Merchants wants CMIT-Europe to become a center of technological excellence and I think it is important that in Europe they have decided to invest in Italy. It is a recognition for the entire national shipbuilding industry".
"In the past months we have conducted a massive recruitment campaign: we employed almost 70 people, 81% of whom are university graduates, and the average age is 38.2 years. We are investing a lot in young people," the manager continued. "The most important thing is that we are based Ravenna where we settled on four floors with 1,800 square meters of completely renovated offices".
"We also act as a central purchasing department for everything that Europe buy from China. We did a little bit of everything," said Schiavo, pointing out that, as far as the central purchasing is concerned, they have acted as a vehicle between China and a whole series of Italian suppliers, giving assistance and solving problems.
(Source:Class Editori)
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