CSBC seeks shipbuilding order from Taiwan's Evergreen

Taiwan's top shipbuilding firm, CSBC Corp, is seeking an order to build 12 new ships for Evergreen Marine, suggesting that major freighters in Asia are benefiting from a sustained pickup in demand globally. CSBC General Manager Tang Tay-ping told Reuters on Wednesday that his company would offer a price next week on the new ships, which each have a capacity of 8,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs).
The first new ship could be shipped in the second half of 2013, said Tang, who declined to give dollar figures on the tender.
Evergreen Marine, the world's fourth-largest marine shipping line, said last month it has targeted a profit for 2010 following losses last year, as cargo orders pick up with the global economic recovery.
Taiwan's industrial hub and major port city Kaohsiung, a barometer for Asian export-reliant economies, has seen mild recovery from a year ago, aiming to add a combined capacity of 6.3 million TEUs to the port, which once handled about 10 million TEUs per year but only saw 8.58 million in 2009.
On Wednesday, CSBC shares closed down 1.38 percent and Evergreen Marine shares fell 0.53 percent, against the main TAIEX's 0.84 percent rise.