The orders received by China's shipbuilding industry hit a record high in 1999, according to preliminary figures from the China Shipbuilding Association.

Statistics also show that China shared 19 percent shipbuilding orders of the world total of 45 million tons, ranking third.

The former China State Shipbuilding Corporation, the country's biggest one of its kind, was divided into two groups last year: the China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) and the China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation(CSIC).

The CSSC received orders to build 150 vessels in 1999, while the CSIC was requested to build 78 ships.

The Dalian New Shipyard last year even signed a 400-million- U.S. dollar-contract to build five 300,000-ton large-scale oil vessels for Iran.

China's shipbuilding industry also got orders from Greece for 11 ships and from Italy for five.