Hitachi Zosen to sell shipbuilding to JFE: Nikkei

Tokyo, Nov 11: JFE Holdings Inc, the world's No.4 steelmaker, is in final talks to take over Hitachi Zosen Corp's shipbuilding operations, a Japanese business daily said on Saturday.

The Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Nikkei) said the move would mark Hitachi Zosen's effective departure from shipbuilding, its former core business, adding that the heavy machinery and engineering firm would now concentrate on environment-related business.

JFE Holdings is likely to acquire Hitachi Zosen's shipbuilding operations by buying out its stake in their 50-50 joint venture, Universal Shipbuilding Corp., the paper said.

The Japanese shipbuilding industry has gone through waves of consolidation after it lost its position as the world's biggest shipbuilder to South Korea in 2000.

Japanese shipbuilders' share in the global market fell to around 35 percent in 2005, compared to its peak of approximately 50 percent in 1975, the paper said.

Reuters