Mumbai: Singapore-based SembCorp Marine has signed an agreement to buy a 3.31% stake (17.5m shares) in Gujarat-based Pipavav Shipyard Ltd (PSL) for Rs 787.5m ($20m). ''With this investment, SembCorp Marine would be able to establish other business ventures in close collaboration with our Indian partners and to grow our marine and offshore business in India,'' said Ng Thiam Poh, SembCorp svp for corporate development, adding that the company plans to advise the yard on areas such as its design, layout and infrastructure in addition to its management and technical systems. It also plans to train company staff and raise quality of production.
The move comes despite the recent scandal regarding unauthorized foreign-exchange transactions that has seen shares in the Singaporean company plummet by 15% last week. Pipavav, which currently boasts a $1bn orderbook for 22 panamax vessels and is working to increase capacity to include VLCC vessels, will be the second shipyard in SembCorp's investment portfolio after Jurong Shipyard. [
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