Hengli Heavy Industries, China’s leading private shipbuilder and the world’s fastest-growing dark horse in the shipbuilding industry, has announced a major development!
On November 6, Songfa Co., Ltd., the listed entity of Hengli Heavy Industries, issued an announcement. The announcement stated that the company had approved a resolution regarding the proposed change of the company’s name, stock abbreviation, and scope of business, as well as amendments to the articles of incorporation. The resolution still needs to be submitted to the shareholders’ meeting for approval, and the company is requesting that the shareholders’ meeting authorize the board of directors—or persons authorized by the board—to handle the corresponding business registration procedures.
According to the announcement, Songfa Co., Ltd. plans to change its Chinese name from “Guangdong Songfa Ceramics Co., Ltd.” to “Hengli Shipbuilding Heavy Industries Co., Ltd.”; change its stock abbreviation from “Songfa Co., Ltd.” to “Hengli Heavy Industries”; retain the stock code “603268” unchanged; remove the reference to “sales of daily-use ceramic products” from its scope of business; and amend the corresponding provisions of the Articles of Incorporation.
Songfa Co., Ltd. stated that it has successfully completed its strategic transformation from a traditional ceramics manufacturer to a company engaged in the R&D, production, and sales of ships and high-end equipment. To ensure that the company’s name and stock abbreviation align with its actual operations and business development direction, accurately reflect its future development plans and strategic positioning, and fully reflect its industrial layout and the nature of its business, the Board of Directors has approved changes to the company’s name, stock abbreviation, and scope of business. At the same time, corresponding amendments have been made to certain provisions of the Articles of Incorporation.
Songfa Co., Ltd. emphasizes that the change to the company’s name and stock abbreviation is based on the actual development of the company’s business and operational needs, and complies with the relevant provisions of laws and regulations such as the Company Law and the Securities Law, as well as the company’s Articles of Incorporation. The new company name aligns with the company’s core business, and the new stock abbreviation is derived from the new company name. There is no attempt to use the change in the company’s name and stock abbreviation to influence the company’s stock price or mislead investors, nor is there any harm to the interests of the company and all its shareholders.
It is understood that Songfa Co., Ltd. was formerly a traditional ceramics company that had faced the risk of delisting due to consecutive years of losses. In September 2024, Songfa Co., Ltd. initiated a major asset restructuring to strategically upgrade its business toward high-end equipment manufacturing through the acquisition of 100% of the equity in Hengli Heavy Industries. The asset transfer was completed after the company received registration approval from the China Securities Regulatory Commission in May 2025.
On August 28, 2025, Songfa Co., Ltd. released its first periodic report following the completion of a major asset restructuring. In the first half of 2025, the company reported net income attributable to shareholders of 647 million yuan (approximately $97 million at the current exchange rate; the same applies below) and net income excluding non-recurring gains and losses of 11,600 yuan (approximately $17,000), marking a significant turnaround from loss to profit in both cases and a fundamental improvement in profitability.
The restructuring of Songfa Co., Ltd. has yielded immediate results. According to a report recently released by Songfa Co., Ltd., in the third quarter of 2026, the company generated operating revenue of 14.27 billion yuan (approximately $2.138 billion), representing a year-over-year increase of 180.97%; net profit attributable to shareholders of 2.138 billion yuan (approximately $320 million), up 390.87% year-over-year; and net profit excluding non-recurring items of 2.731 billion yuan (approximately $409 million), up 377.32% year-over-year.
In the first three quarters of 2026, Songfa Co., Ltd. reported operating revenue of 37.774 billion yuan (approximately $5.659 billion), a year-over-year increase of 221.25%; Net income attributable to shareholders of the parent company was 6.673 billion yuan (approximately $1.000 billion), a year-over-year increase of 424.87%; net income excluding non-recurring items was 6.246 billion yuan (approximately $936 million), a year-over-year increase of 807.82%.
Reportedly, Hengli Heavy Industries was formerly known as STX (Dalian) Shipbuilding Co., Ltd., which was once China’s largest foreign-invested shipyard. Founded in 2006, it announced bankruptcy liquidation on December 20, 2015.
In July 2022, Hengli Heavy Industries acquired the assets of STX Dalian Shipbuilding for 2.11 billion yuan (approximately $316 million); in the fourth quarter of 2022, Hengli Heavy Industries officially resumed its shipbuilding operations; in early 2023, the Hengli Heavy Industries Industrial Park officially began operations; and in May 2025, Hengli Heavy Industries became China’s first publicly traded private shipbuilding company.
In terms of orders, since commencing production in early 2023, Hengli Heavy Industries has received orders for over 600 vessels, with delivery schedules extending through 2031. Its order book covers the full spectrum of “bulk, general cargo, oil, and gas” vessels, with high-value-added vessel types—such as oil tankers, container ships, and gas carriers—accounting for more than 70 percent of the total.
According to data from shipbroker Banchero Costa, from January through September 2026, Hengli Heavy Industries secured a total of 276 new ship orders, accounting for 23.4% of the global order volume for 2026 in terms of adjusted gross tonnage; As of the end of September, Hengli Heavy Industries’ orderbook had grown to 485 vessels, accounting for 11.2% of the total orderbook held by global shipyards, ranking it first among individual shipyards worldwide.
To date, Hengli Heavy Industries reportedly operates the world’s largest dry dock, measuring 860 meters long and 146 meters wide. It can simultaneously construct four 24,000-TEU container ships and is equipped with a 2,000-ton gantry crane. Hengli Heavy Industries stated that its annual steel processing capacity has reached 3 million tons, with an annual output of 300 marine engines, and that its four main dry docks can simultaneously build VLCCs and 10,000-TEU-class container ships in batches.
Although it already possesses substantial shipbuilding capacity, Hengli Heavy Industries is simultaneously moving forward with plans to expand its capacity as new ship orders continue to accumulate. Upon completion of the three major capacity expansion projects currently in the planning stages, Hengli Heavy Industries will have 10 slots for vessels under 200,000 DWT and 12 slots for vessels over 200,000 DWT, enabling the simultaneous construction of 22 large vessels.