The signing ceremony took in Beijing, in the presence of Giovanni Tria, Italy’s Minister of Economy and Finance, Fabrizio Palermo, ceo of Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, Giuseppe Bono, ceo of Fincantieri, and Lei Fanpei, chairman of CSSC.
Collaboration to cover oil & gas, cruise ferries, mega yachts as well as cruise
The agreement foresees the parties discussing extending their current collaboration, which counts a joint venture dedicated to the first cruise ships ever built in China for the local market and other related shipbuilding activities in several areas such as: vessels for the oil & gas industry; cruise-ferries; mega-yachts; special vessels; steel infrastructures; marine engineering and equipment procurement.
The cooperation also extends to covering cruise cabins, interior decoration, and the establishment of a reliable supply chain in the cruise market in China.
The parties said they may also extend the scope of the agreement to other areas.
Joint working group
Fincantieri and CSSC will establish a joint working group, composed of six members with appropriate technical expertise, three selected by each side.
This group aims to define the preliminary activities by the end of the year including potential opportunities for each of the areas identified for the collaboration, to analyze the market size and to identify preferential sales channel, to analyse potential partnerships among CSSC and Fincantieri group companies and its network of suppliers.
In February 2017, Fincantieri, CSSC and Carnival Corporation signed a binding agreement for the construction of two cruise ships, with an option for an additional four, at Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding (SWS) shipyard.
Cruise shipbuilding and shiprepair agreement
The group also signed a letter of intent (LOI) with CSSC and the Shanghai City’s district of Baoshan for the development of the supply chain mainly dedicated to cruise activities, as well as shipbuilding and maritime, and a comprehensive agreement for ship repair and conversions with Huarun Dadong Dockyard (HRDD), the leading Chinese shipyard specialized in ship repair and refitting activities, aimed at serving the cruise ships based in China.
Bono commented: ‘This agreement is a further recognition of our decision to access the great potential represented by China.’
New opportunities in China for Fincantieri's supply chain
Bono said, ‘acting as a first mover in the field of shipbuilding, we are able to create new opportunities for small and medium-sized companies in our supply chain, through the successful consolidation of relations with the major [Chinese] groups in this sector, and, at the same time, to continue to do the same in the West, in taking advantage of the booming cruise market there.
A conference session focussing on China's cruise shipbuilding and repair sectors aptly named Made in, and for, China is part of the Seatrade Cruise Asia Pacific 2018 taking place in Baoshan district of Shanghai between October 23-25, 2018.
