Pipavav eyes SE Asia, Latin America for exports

Private sector shipbuilder Pipavav Defence & Offshore Engineering (formerly Pipavav Shipyard) is betting big on exports to geographies like Latin America, Indonesia and Africa, a top executive said today.

"Export is the one of the key focus areas for us and we are eying geographies like Indonesia, Southeast Asia, Latin America and Africa for exports," Pipavav Defence Executive Director RM Bhatia told reporters on the sidelines of a defence meet here.

He said out of the total order book of around USD 1.5 billion, USD 710 million comprise exports as of now for the company. Bhatia declined to quantify future export growth.

Pipapav recently entered into a joint ventureagreement with public sector Mazagon Dock, Mumbai in the shipbuilding space, making it the first public-private partnership in the defence space.

Under the JV, which has been suspended following allegations from competitors, the Nikhil Gandhi-promoted Pipavav will build warships for the Navy.

"We see a lot of opportunity for private players with increasing investment by the Government in the defence sector. Going ahead, we will bid for many more projects as part of our expansion plan," Bhatia said.

The Pipapav counter closed at Rs 83.60, up 0.30% on the BSE today.