Ann: FY2018 H1 Investor Presentation, page-15

I'm a bit late to this party - I missed the announcement of the JV last year.

Anyway, in many industries in China (and other Countries), foreign companies cannot form local wholly-owned subsidiaries; but they are allowed to form JV companies. I am not sure whether Austal could have formed a wholly owned foreign enterprise or other form of local Chinese company - but there is a reasonable chance that this is what is driving the JV structure. In such situations, as well as meeting local legal requirements, a key commercial advantage of a JV is that you get an invested local partner - in this case, one with 2 shipyards and 1000 workers. Austral brings IP and expertise to the JV - and both share the fruits.

The foreign partner can decide what they place into the JV - what IP, which people, what capital etc. The JVs are separate and independent.

Like any partnership, JVs can fall apart in acrimony. There is always a risk, but I do not see it as being greater than the risk of trying to enter a new capital-intensive market alone as a foreigner. In a market like China, a JV makes a lot of sense - to me, anyway.