Amed-WH ireland20 Aug 2015 14:04
Fig 5: Investment structure
YZJ Shipbuilding (mkt cap $4.3bn) Amedeo Resources
| | |
YZJ Offshore JV - Singapore (47.5%) MGR Resources (49.0%)
|
YZJ Offshore - China (19.0%)
Source: Amedeo Resources
YZJ Offshore
In July 2012, Amedeo made its first investment, costing an initial £9.6m by taking an original 46.5% stake in YZJ Offshore Engineering Pte Ltd (subsequently full paid up with a further £3.3m investment), which has a 40.0% stake in YZJ Offshore. Amedeo’s partner in this venture is Yangzijiang Shipbuilding, the largest non-state owned shipbuilder in China. YZJ Shipbuilding’s shares are quoted in Singapore and Taiwan, with a market capitalisation of US$4.1bn. YZJ Shipping produces a range of large commercial vessels, such as container ships, bulk carriers and LNG vessels, having gained a reputation for delivering its vessels on time, on budget and strictly to the quality standards set. YZJ Shipping has backed this venture with Amedeo as it looks to expand into adjacent markets, in line with China’s economic strategy to move increasingly up the value chain.
There are currently ten offshore yards in China, including YZJ Offshore’s yard, capable of producing rigs; the other nine are state owned. Rigs built in China to date out of the nine state owned yards have had a number of quality issues. However, the economics of building rigs in China are clearly highly attractive if these quality issues can be addressed. The Chinese Government is firmly behind YZJ Offshore, providing the land on which the yard is located at an attractive rate, in combination with investing in the surrounding infrastructure such as roads.
MGR Resources
The decision to invest in MGR Resources in April 2013, in which Amedeo now holds a 49.0% stake, was taken with a view that dividend payments from MGR to Amedeo would cover the day to day running costs of the company. The business historically focused on ferrous metals and ore into China. With the fall in the price of iron ore, and subsequent fall in brokering margins, MGR has since been exploring opportunities in other areas.