(Yicai) May 13 -- Junzheng Energy & Chemical Group, a Chinese chemical producer, will spend CNY3.2 billion (USD443 million) on five big vessels to widen its chemical logistics business, marking its second such order in the past three weeks.

Units based in Dubai and Hong Kong penned agreements with a subsidiary of conglomerate China State Shipbuilding on the construction of five ships with a capacity of 25,900 deadweight tons each, the Wuhai-based firm announced after the close of the latest trading day. It expects to receive the vessels in two to four years.

Junzheng will also have the option of adding five more ships of the same kind, the firm said.

This is the second shipbuilding order Junzheng has placed in the past three weeks. On April 25, the company said it would buy five vessels with the same capacity from a unit of China Merchants Industry Holdings, another shipbuilding titan.

The firm aims to expand its fleet by adding highly economical and competitive vessels to consolidate its status in the global market and the sector of shipping services for liquid chemicals while increasing its capabilities for sustainable development, it said.

Last year, Junzheng's business of logistics services earned about CNY7.5 billion (USD1 billion) in revenue, accounting for 39 percent of the total while getting quite close to its main revenue source of chemical production, which contributed about 45 percent, according to the annual report released last month.

Junzheng's total fleet for chemical logistics amounted to almost 1.2 million deadweight tons as of Dec. 31. The firm also owns two terminals with a capacity of 50,000 tons each for chemicals, as well as storage facilities in Lianyungang, a city in Jiangsu province. Its shipping network covers major nations and cities in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, according to the annual report.

Shares of Junzheng [SHA: 601216] closed 0.5 percent lower at CNY4.40 (60 US cents) after advancing as much as 2.7 percent intraday in Shanghai today.

Editor: Emmi Laine