India's ABG Shipyard plans US$200m share sale

ABG Shipyard Ltd, India's biggest shipbuilder outside state control, plans to raise US$200 million in a share sale in the middle of the fiscal year to help fund a third shipyard and expand an existing facility in Gujarat state.

The company is in talks with arrangers, including ICICI Bank, to sell the new stock, Rishi Agarwal, managing director of Mumbai-based ABG Shipyard, said. The company started its new business year.

'We will do it at the right time,' he said, declining to provide further details. 'We're aggressively pursuing growth.'

'The company has a huge order book and about half of them are repeat orders from customers,' said ULJK Securities analyst Omkar Vartak.

He expects the stock to reach 1,200 rupees in the next 12 months. Shares of ABG Shipyard rose 4.9 per cent to 719.6 rupees on Monday in Bombay. The stock has lost 27 per cent this year, compared with the benchmark Sensitive Index's 23 per cent decline.

ABG Shipyard's proposed third facility will be able to build vessels measuring 350 metres in length, compared with 250 metres at its existing facility in Dahej, chief financial officer Dhananjay Datar said. The company hasn't decided on the location for the new yard.

To read the full article, click here....
To read the ePaper, visit: http://www.eshippingtoday.com