China Merchants Group (CMG) has withdrawn from its joint venture with Viking to develop a local luxury cruise brand. CMG acquired the 2017-built Viking Sun in 2021 for nearly $400 million, renaming it China Merchants Eden, but persistent below-capacity passenger numbers — the ship regularly sailed well under its 930-passenger maximum — resulted in reported losses. The vessel has been listed on the Beijing Equity Exchange with a minimum bid of 2.9 billion RMB ($420 million). The buyer must remove all China Merchants branding within one month of purchase; Viking branding is excluded from the sale.

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