Taiwan's shipbuilding output expected to top NT$50 billion for 2007

The production value of Taiwan's shipbuilding industry is expected to amount to NT$52 billion (US$1.6 billion) for 2007, up 21 percent over the year-earlier level, according to tallies released by the Industrial Development Bureau (IDB).

This will mark the first time the country's shipbuilding output has topped NT$50 billion, IDB officials said, predicting that the production value will further expand to more than NT$60 billion for 2008.

For the first 11 months of this year, Taiwan's state-owned shipbuilder - CSBS Corp., Taiwan - saw its revenue amount to NT$26.2 billion and its pre-tax net profit hit a record-high of NT$4 billion, the officials said.

As of the end of November, CSBC had held orders for 60 container vessels worth a total of NT$125.9 billion and 30 fast missile attack boats worth a total of NT$12.62 billion, and the orders will keep the production line of CSBC's Kaohsiung shipyard busy until April 2012 and that of the Keelung shipyard occupied until July 2011, the officials said.

In addition, to prepare for expected changes in the global shipping industry after the completion of the Panama Canal expansion project, CSBS has established a partnership with the American Bureau of Shipping to develop new Panamax-class container vessels with a capacity of 12,500 twenty-foot equivalent units, they noted.

Meanwhile, Taiwan's largest private-owned shipbuilder - Jong Shyn Shipbuding Co. - has invested an additional NT$1.75 billion in expanding existing shipyards and building new facilities this year, and the company's annual turnover is expected to increase to NT$4 billion after the completion of the project, the officials said.