China's COSCO aims to list tanker business - exec

SHANGHAI, April 28 (Reuters) - China's COSCO Group, the world's largest dry bulk ship operator, aims to list its tanker shipping operations separately although it has no timetable for a spin-off, a top executive of the tanker unit said on Tuesday.

"The group has always been considering taking us out and listing us independently," said Dalian Ocean Shipping Co Managing Director Meng Qinglin, although he offered no further details.

Dalian Ocean Shipping has more than 40 oil, LNG and chemical tankers. It also owns eight very large crude carriers and rents an additional five.

COSCO Group's subsidiaries include China COSCO (1919.HK) (601919.SS), a leading container shipping company, and COSCO Pacific (1199.HK), a container leasing firm and the world's fifth-largest port operator.

(Reporting by Bella Zeng and Edmund Klamann; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)