Chinese shipyard Hengli Heavy Industries is set to go public via a major asset restructuring with Hengli Group-controlled ceramic products manufacturer Songfa Ceramics. Hengli Group’s shipbuilding business will indirectly enter the capital market via a deal that resembles a reverse takeover, also sometimes referred to as a backdoor listing, through an asset swap and share issue with Shanghai-listed Songfa, whose main shareholders are Chen Jianhua and Fan Hongwei, chairman and vice chair of Hengli. After the transaction is completed, Songfa will withdraw from the ceramic products industry, and Hengli Heavy Industry will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of the listed company, which will focus on the research and development, production and sales of ships and high-end equipment, according to the stock exchange filing. Hengli Group, which acquired STX Dalian more than two years ago and rebranded it into Hengli Heavy Industry, has lined up more than $1bn to expand the yard and boost its annual shipbuilding capacity to 7.1m tons, more than twice its current output. While the yard has predominantly focused on kamsarmax bulk carriers since its revival, top management has said it will now also target VLCCs, VLGCs, large containerships, FPSOs, and high-value-added offshore engineering equipment. Earlier reports indicated that Hengli Group had been looking to spin off its shipbuilding arm with a public listing through an IPO on the Hong Stock Exchange. In related stock exchange listing news, Taiwanese carrier TS Lines has passed the listing hearing of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and may see its stocks trading on the main board of Hong Kong soon. The world’s 20th largest liner has had multiple attempts at listing since 2018. googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1_95_0_1_2'); });