Cosco - Need For Greater Disclosure

-Cosco said a customer (believed to be Great Eastern Shipping of India although Cosco for some strange reasons has refused to confirm) has cancelled 2 of four 57,000-dwt bulk carriers ordered, and extended the completion date for the other 2, by 7 months to Sept 2010, and 6 months to Jan 2011 respectively.

-Keppel Corp’s Offshore unit said 2 of the 3 orders under review (announced on Nov 27 ’08) have been cancelled, one from Scorpion (valued at US$403 mln), and the other from Ezra of Singapore, which does not bode well for Ezra as well. As for the US$420 mln contract for 2 jack-up rigs from Seadrill, the two parties have agreed to continue with the construction on revised terms, details of which are however not given, other than they are “mutually beneficial”.

-This agreement also applies to Seadill’s order for 2 jack-ups valued at US$430 mln awarded to Semb Marine’s subsidiary PPL Shipyard last June. (The Seadrill orders for 4 jack-ups were to have been delivered in Q2/Q4 2010, and March/Nov 2010 respectively.)
1. The latest negative developments reaffirm our concerns over the contracts secured by Kep Offshore and Semb Marine in the run-up to the US$147 per barrel of oil last July.

2. We remain particularly wary of Cosco, which appears to have adopted a deliberate policy of keeping mum about identity of customers (not setting precedents?), which include parent CoscoChina.

3. The non-disclosure of details of the revised terms by Kep Offshore and Semb Marine is no less discomforting.

4. Such details would include whether the customers have been offered deferred payment scheme (DPS), which if so, would lead to other questions / concerns.

5. We therefore remain Neutral towards the sector, while keeping our preference for Keppel and Semb Marine, which at least come with a more established track record and reputation.

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