COSCO plans an IPO for its shipbuilding arm to fund new facilities and green technologies, enhancing its global shipbuilding leadership.
China's maritime giant COSCO is preparing for an initial public offering (IPO) of its shipbuilding and repair arm, COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry. The company, which owns nine major shipyards, plans to use the financing obtained from the IPO for new production facilities, dry dock investments, smart manufacturing, and green ship technologies.
As China's dominance in the global shipbuilding market strengthens, one of the country's largest maritime groups, China COSCO Shipping, is gearing up for a new growth initiative.
COSCO's shipbuilding, maintenance, and repair subsidiary, COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry, has initiated the necessary preparations for an A-share IPO in China.
With the completion of the company's IPO guidance registration at the China Securities Regulatory Commission, the process for its listing on the domestic stock exchange has officially begun.
The size and exact timeline of the IPO have not yet been disclosed.
It has nine major shipyards.
Established in 2016, COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry was formed by consolidating the group's various shipbuilding and repair assets under one roof.
The company currently operates nine major shipyards spread across China's Jiangsu, Liaoning, Zhejiang, Shanghai, and Guangdong regions.
Its areas of operation include new shipbuilding, offshore engineering, ship maintenance and repair, conversion projects, and maritime equipment.
According to Reuters, despite its relatively short history of about 10 years, the company has become one of the world's leading shipbuilding groups in terms of new orders, while also achieving a significant position in ship repair on a global scale.
There are 216 ships in the order book.
The current business volume of COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry also highlights the scale of the IPO initiative.
The company received orders worth 41.3 billion yuan, approximately 6.15 billion dollars, for 79 new ships to be delivered in 2025.
In the same year, the company delivered 62 ships, bringing its total deliveries to 6.31 million deadweight tonnage (dwt).
By the end of 2025, COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry's order book included 216 ships and 24.77 million dwt.
Of these, 76 ships, with a total capacity of 8.11 million dwt, were under construction.
The company also completed maintenance, repair, or conversion work on 1,324 ships in 2025.
Revenue increased by 22%.
The strong demand in the shipbuilding market has also reflected in COSCO's financial results.
According to data reported by Reuters from the company's subsidiaries, COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry's revenue rose by 22% to approximately 50 billion yuan, around 7.5 billion dollars, in 2025.
Factors supporting new ship demand include the aging of the global fleet, environmental regulations favoring more efficient vessels, and geopolitical crises extending maritime transport routes.
China received 74% of global orders.
COSCO's IPO preparations coincide with a period when Chinese shipyards are very strong in the global shipbuilding market.
According to Clarksons Research data, Chinese shipyards accounted for 74% of new ship orders worldwide in the first seven months of 2026.
COSCO's parent group, China COSCO Shipping, is also one of the largest players in global maritime transport.
According to Reuters, as of July, the group's fleet reached 1,729 ships, while COSCO's operational network extends to over 1,500 ports in 160 countries and regions.
Investment in new shipyards and green ships.
The financing obtained from the planned IPO is expected to be used to further expand COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry's production capacity.
The company's investment plans include establishing new production bases in Tianjin and Yangjiang, modernizing large dry docks, implementing smart manufacturing systems, and conducting research and development activities for environmentally friendly ship technologies.
In particular, the increasing global demand for alternative fuel and energy-efficient ships may lead Chinese shipyards to accelerate new capacity investments in the coming period.
COSCO's IPO initiative stands out as one of the investments aimed not only at maintaining China's current superiority in ship orders but also at increasing its share in the production of next-generation and high value-added ships.
Source: SeaNews Türkiye
