The Qatar Shipping Company (QSC) and India’s Aban Loyd oil services company have recently entered into a joint venture, planning to bid for the divestment of the Shipping Corporation of India (SCI). “We have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with QSC, but the joint venture’s final structure is yet to be concluded,” Aban Loyd’s Managing Director MA Abraham told India Times.
SCI has been slated for divestiture by the Indian government, which currently holds an 80 percent stake in the company. The shipping major will be divesting a 51 percent stake to a strategic partner or a joint venture company. Strategic foreign partners may hold up to 25 percent of SCI. SCI’s divestment is expected to be completed by June 2006.
Aban Loyd’s subsidiary Aban Constructions has already carried out several projects in partnership with Qatar Shipping, including another bid placed for IndiaOil Corporation’s floating storage and offloading units. The companies also jointly provide mechanical engineering services for petrochemical companies in Doha.
Incorporated in 1992, QSC is a ship owning, operating and managing company with focus on marine tankers engaged in transportation of oil and clean oil products. QSC owns and operates a deep-sea fleet comprising of seven vessels with an aggregate tonnage of 711,153 deadweight tons.
Starting in 1966 as a mechanical engineering and construction company, the Chennai-based Aban Loyd has grown into a diversified conglomerate, with a workforce of over 5,000 people and assets crossing $180 million. — (menareport.com)
© 2002 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
