(Yicai) Dec. 9 -- China State Shipbuilding Corporation, the country's largest shipbuilding conglomerate, has received an order for a record 87 ships worth around CNY50 billion (USD7.1 billion) from China Cosco Shipping, the operator of Cosco Shipping Lines and Orient Overseas Container Line.

CSSC signed the largest domestic contract ever for a Chinese shipbuilder with COSCO Shipping in Shanghai yesterday, its listed unit China CSSC Holdings announced late on the same day. The vessels will be built at six shipyards under CSSC, it added.

The 87 ships include ultra-large container ships, very large bulk carriers, ultra-large oil tankers, grain transport vessels, multi-purpose heavy lift ships, medium range tankers, ferry boats, and small box ships, CSSC Holdings noted. The contract has a long period of performance, with some orders being intended orders, it added, without providing a delivery schedule.

Of the around CNY50 billion involved in the deal, about CNY47 billion will be settled through cross-border Chinese yuan transactions, a record cross-border yuan settlement, CSSC Holdings pointed out.

The move provides a new model for the diversification of settlement currencies in CSSC Holdings's trade, CSSC said on the same day.

Cosco Shipping is the largest ocean transportation service provider in China. It has several listed subsidiaries, including Cosco Shipping Energy Transportation, which focuses on energy transport, and Cosco Shipping Holdings, which specializes in container shipping.

Shares of CSSC Holdings [SHA: 600150] closed 2.4 percent higher at CNY34.56 (USD4.89) each today. The broader Shanghai stock market fell 0.4 percent.

Editor: Martin Kadiev