Reliance Defence Ltd inks MoU wit Abu Dhabi Ship Building

Reliance Defence Ltd (RDL) led by Anil Ambani has inked memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Abu Dhabi Ship Building (ADSB) to set up a strategic partnership for construction of naval ships.
The partnership will include construction of frigates and destroyers to address the demands of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) over the next 10 years.
Both signatory parties are also going to incorporate a joint venture (JV) company which will encompass both construction of new naval vessels as well as repair, maintenance, overhaul and refit opportunities of existing commercial and naval vessels in the Gulf region.
In this proposed JV Company, RDL will be the majority partner with 51 per cent stake and ADSB will have 49 per cent of stake.
Background
The MoU signing between RDL and ADSB follows the joint statement issued during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to United Arab Emirates (UAE) in August 2015 which had highlighted cooperation and manufacture of defence equipment in India.

About Abu Dhabi Ship Building

ADSB is a major regional provider of construction, repair and refit services for naval, military and commercial vessels in the GCC region.
It was established in 1996 and is headquartered in Abu Dhabi. Originally, it was established to support the repairs and refits of UAE Navy vessels.
Currently, it has market portfolio of different projects worth 3 billion UAE Dirhams. Its stake is jointly owned by Mubadala (40 per cent stake), Abu Dhabi Government (10 per cent stake) while the remaining 50 per cent is publicly traded on UAE’s stock exchange.

Month: Current Affairs - September, 2015