MAINBOARD-LISTED Marco Polo Marine' s (MPM) wholly-owned subsidiary Marco Polo Shipyard has secured shipbuilding contracts from Singapore Aquaculture Technologies (SAT) to construct two units of " smart" floating fish farms, in the marine logistics group' s first move into a new market.

 

MPM, which principally engages in shipping and shipyard businesses, did not disclose the value of the contracts in its bourse filing on Monday.

 

It said the " smart" fish farms represent a " new era in aquaculture" , as they use advanced technology and green processes to produce at least 500 megatonnes of food fish for the Singaporean market annually.

 

MPM aims to support the government&rsquo s vision for the country to become self-sufficient for 30 per cent of its food production by 2030.

 

While the contracts are not expected to have a material impact on the group' s consolidated net tangible assets per share and consolidated earnings per share, they are expected to contribute positively to its performance for the financial year ending Sept 30, 2021.

 

MPM has emerged from a debt restructuring in 2017, after a bailout by a group of white knights prevented it from collapsing during the previous oil crash. Back in May, the group said it had diversified into new businesses such as submarine cable installations and offshore wind-farm projects, and is working to expand beyond South-east Asia.

 

On July 6, Marco Polo Marine Group CEO Sean Lee Yun Feng acquired 2.8 million shares of the marine logistic group for a consideration of S$42,000. At 1.50 cents per share, the acquisitions took Mr Lee' s total interest in Marco Polo Marine from 4.71 per cent to 4.79 per cent. His preceding acquisitions were between June 23 and June 24, with 4,296,900 shares acquired at an average price of 1.39 cents per share.

 

Mr Lee is responsible for the overall management and day-to-day operations of the group as well as the formulation of the business directions, strategies and policies. Mr Lee is also instrumental in initiating and penetrating new markets for both the shipping and shipyard operations. On the operational front, he has also introduced a slew of strategic operational measures to improve the efficiency of its fleet of vessels.