en.Wedoany.com Reported - The shipbuilding industry continues to maintain a high prosperity cycle in 2026, with two major private Chinese shipyards simultaneously advancing large-scale capacity expansion. Hengli Heavy Industry, a rising shipbuilding leader, obtained regulatory approval for a 7 billion RMB private placement through its listed entity Songfa Co., Ltd., with a total investment of 13.5 billion RMB allocated to three green ship expansion projects. Meanwhile, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding's new subsidiary shipyard, Yangzi Hongyuan Shipbuilding, has completed commissioning of core equipment, entering the final sprint phase for production. The two companies exhibit distinct expansion paths and development logics, reflecting the industry's common rules regarding the prerequisites and strategic value of current shipyard capacity expansion.
Hengli Heavy Industry's 7 Billion RMB Private Placement Approved by CSRC, Systematic Expansion of Dalian Industrial Park
On June 15, Guangdong Songfa Ceramics Co., Ltd. (Stock Code: 603268, Stock Abbreviation: Songfa Co., Ltd.) announced that it received the registration approval from the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) for the issuance of A-shares to specific targets. This issuance is directed at no more than 35 specific investors, with a total fundraising cap of 7 billion RMB. The net proceeds will be fully invested in three major ship expansion projects in Dalian, with a combined total investment of 13.5 billion RMB.
According to previous announcements, Songfa Co., Ltd. plans to issue A-shares to no more than 35 specific investors, raising a total of no more than 7 billion RMB. After deducting issuance expenses, the net proceeds are intended to be invested in three major projects: the Green Intelligent High-End Ship Manufacturing Integration Project, the Hengli Shipbuilding (Dalian) Co., Ltd. Green Ship Manufacturing Curved Block Supporting Upgrade Project, and the Green High-End Ship Manufacturing Project Supporting Berths No. 3-6 Wharf Project. The total investment for these three fundraising projects is approximately 13.5 billion RMB.
Specifically, the Green Intelligent High-End Ship Manufacturing Integration Project has an investment of 10.065 billion RMB, with 5 billion RMB from the raised funds. This project includes two sub-projects: the Hengli Shipbuilding Green Intelligent Equipment Manufacturing Project and the supporting facilities for the Hengli Shipbuilding Green High-End Ship Construction Project. It mainly involves constructing land-based intelligent workshops and renovating/expanding other related supporting facilities, setting up steel yards, hull assembly workshops (including pretreatment), flat panel block workshops, curved block workshops, pre-outfitting workshops, and other land-based production facilities, along with related supporting infrastructure. The project's planned construction period is 24 months. The Hengli Shipbuilding Green Ship Manufacturing Curved Block Supporting Upgrade Project has an investment of 2.126 billion RMB, with 1.5 billion RMB from the raised funds. As a key component of the Hengli Heavy Industry Industrial Park, this project mainly involves constructing curved block workshops, pre-outfitting workshops, power zones, supporting yards, and other land-based production facilities, with a planned construction period of 12 months. The Green High-End Ship Manufacturing Project Supporting Berths No. 3-6 Wharf Project has an investment of 1.318 billion RMB, with 500 million RMB from the raised funds. This project primarily involves constructing four outfitting wharves (No. 3-6), capable of berthing ships ranging from 100,000 DWT to 400,000 DWT, mainly serving the Hengli Heavy Industry Industrial Park, with a planned construction period of 12 months.
Songfa Co., Ltd. completed a major asset restructuring in 2025, fully acquiring Hengli Heavy Industry's equity, transitioning its main business from ceramic manufacturing to ship R&D and construction. In terms of order data, Hengli Heavy Industry signed 115 new ships in 2025; in 2026, new orders exceeded 150 ships, setting a new historical record, with the entire order book extending to 2030.
Hengli Heavy Industry noted that the current shipbuilding industry is in an upward cycle, and existing capacity cannot digest the ultra-long-cycle order backlog, necessitating expansion to ensure on-time delivery. Upon completion of the three expansion projects, the shipyard will be able to simultaneously construct 10 ships under 200,000 DWT and 12 large ships over 200,000 DWT, totaling 22 standardized berths.
Regarding capital planning, as of the end of 2025, Songfa Co., Ltd. estimated total capital expenditures of 22.039 billion RMB over the next three years. In addition to the 13.5 billion RMB fundraising projects, this includes multiple supporting projects such as Berth No. 8 Outfitting Wharf, an International Ship R&D Center, high-end equipment supporting facilities, and the industrial park's living area.
Yangzijiang Shipbuilding's Yangzi Hongyuan New Base Accelerates Production, Expanding Six-Shipyard Matrix
During the same period, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding's new independent shipbuilding base, Yangzi Hongyuan Shipbuilding, reached a key construction milestone. The base's 1,800-ton large shipbuilding gantry crane completed full-machine testing. Manufactured by Runbon Heavy Machinery, the crane has a span of 178 meters, a lifting height of 90 meters, and a capacity for 1,800-ton tandem lifting and 1,000-ton block turning, suitable for constructing large clean energy ship blocks.
Public information from April 2026 indicated that 16 intelligent production lines across three major workshops—processing, block assembly, and pipe outfitting—at Yangzi Hongyuan were fully operational, with initial ship orders already in production. The base was registered and established in April 2024, covering 1,300 mu of land with 1,320 meters of waterfront. It is equipped with one 300,000 DWT building dock, one 200,000 DWT outfitting wharf, and a 100,000 DWT inner harbor basin. With an annual capacity of 800,000 DWT and an expected annual output value of no less than 10 billion RMB upon full production, the base is planned for full commissioning by the end of 2026.
To continuously expand its capacity footprint, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding invested $100 million in April 2026 to establish Yangzi Hongda Ship Repair & Building Co., Ltd. With the addition of Yangzi Hongyuan, the Yangzijiang Shipbuilding Group now has six shipbuilding entities. The remaining four are New Yangzi Shipbuilding, Yangzi Xinfu Shipbuilding, Yangzi Mitsui Shipbuilding, and Zhoushan Tsuneishi Shipbuilding, which received capital injection in 2025. Yangzi Hongyuan Base is positioned as a dedicated clean energy ship construction base, having already secured container ship orders from SITC International, focusing on the differentiated track of high-value-added green vessel types.
Shipbuilding is a capital, land, and technology-intensive heavy asset industry. Multi-billion RMB expansion projects are not initiated blindly. Capacity expansion by leading shipyards must simultaneously meet five hard conditions:
Order books are saturated with long delivery cycles. Clarksons data shows Hengli Heavy Industry has 326 ships on order, totaling 11.73 million CGT. New ship orders received in 2026 exceeded 150, higher than the 115 for the full year of 2025, with existing capacity unable to match delivery demand. Orders across Yangzijiang Shipbuilding's six shipyards are fully saturated, with a clear gap in new demand for clean energy vessels, prompting the plan for a new specialized shipbuilding base.
Stable, large-scale long-term financing channels are available. Single shipyard expansion projects often require tens of billions of RMB, which is difficult to support with internal funds alone. Songfa Co., Ltd. completed its asset restructuring in 2025, fully acquiring Hengli Heavy Industry. Leveraging its A-share listing platform, it can raise medium-to-long-term construction funds through private placements. Yangzijiang Shipbuilding, listed overseas for many years, has stable operating cash flows and relies on its own industrial funds to progressively invest in and construct the new base.
The industry is in an upward cycle with continuously rising newbuilding prices. Current market demand for bulk carriers, tankers, and green-powered vessels is strong. Shipowners are securing forward berths early, allowing shipyards expanding capacity to simultaneously benefit from rising ship prices. Coupled with the rigid demand for global shipping's low-carbon transition, orders for LNG, methanol, and ammonia-fueled dual-fuel vessels continue to grow. Newly built intelligent and green capacity possesses long-term market competitiveness.
Available compliant land, deep-water waterfront, and a complete supporting industrial chain are essential. Hengli Heavy Industry revitalized the existing waterfront and land of a former abandoned shipyard in Dalian, requiring no new land approvals. Yangzi Hongyuan Shipbuilding secured 1,300 mu of dedicated shipbuilding land and 1,320 meters of deep-water waterfront. Both locations are supported by complete industrial clusters for steel processing, ship supporting equipment, and port-side logistics, ensuring smooth construction and subsequent production support for the expansion projects.
Long-term stable customer resources among domestic and international shipowners are necessary. Hengli Heavy Industry has accumulated a large number of long-term batch orders from leading Greek and European shipowners. Yangzijiang Shipbuilding has a balanced customer base both domestically and internationally, with ample reserves of green high-end ship orders. The new capacity has a stable and continuous source of order intake, with no risk of idling upon commissioning.
This round of concentrated capacity expansion by leading private shipbuilders is an inevitable choice driven by the global shipping low-carbon transition and the concentrated release of new ship demand. However, Hengli Heavy Industry and Yangzijiang Shipbuilding, representing a cross-industry newcomer and an established industry leader respectively, have distinctly different expansion strategies. Hengli Heavy Industry leverages the leverage of the A-share capital market, renovating and expanding on its existing Dalian shipyard site, implementing a one-time multi-billion RMB expansion investment. It focuses on large-scale, batch construction of all ship types—tankers, bulk carriers, and container ships—rapidly increasing its total CGT scale and capturing overseas batch export ship orders. Yangzijiang Shipbuilding, with over two decades of deep involvement in the industry, adopts a steady expansion route. It acquires new land to build a specialized green ship independent base, investing and commissioning in phases, focusing on the high-value-added clean energy vessel niche. Simultaneously, it supports its own shipping business, achieving synergistic development between shipbuilding and shipping.
In the medium to long term, new green and intelligent capacity will continue to solidify the global competitive advantage of Chinese shipyards. However, heavy asset expansion also carries potential risks such as cyclical fluctuations, steel costs, and a shortage of high-skilled technicians. Whether these two companies can deliver performance based on their new capacity will ultimately depend on global shipping trade demand, shipowners' ordering pace, and the speed of low-carbon ship technology iteration.
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