Austal pulls out of Chinese joint-venture, Aulong Shipbuilding

“A letter of intent has been executed by the parties targeting completion of the negotiations by 31 October 2021,” Austal said in a statement to the Australian exchange.

A spokesman for Austal said the move had nothing to do with diplomatic tensions between Australia and China, but had come about because the Chinese domestic ferry business had not grown like the company had expected when the joint venture was established five years ago.