In the evening of August 30, COSCO SHIPPING Development made an announcement: it signed an investment construction and leasing agreement for 42 bulk carriers. This is the largest ship construction and leasing deal since the company transformed into a shipping production and financing operator in 2016. As a production and financing operator centered around the main line of the shipping and logistics industry, the company currently owns more than 140 ships, and has its arrangement in a number of segments, such as container ships, bulk carriers, and multipurpose pulp ships. Through this transaction, the scale of the company's ship assets will jump significantly, and the cornerstone of the combination of production and financing will be effectively consolidated.

According to the transaction, COSCO SHIPPING Development will entrust COSCO SHIPPING Heavy Industry to invest in the construction of 20 bulk carriers and COSCO Chengxi to invest in the construction of 22 bulk carriers, including five 64,000-ton, two 82,000-ton and 35 of 80,000-ton vessels, with a total ship order amount of more than RMB14.3 billion. The vessels will be delivered from 2026 to 2027 and will be leased to COSCO SHIPPING Bulk on a long-term basis.

Major advancement in the integration of industry and finance

In the face of the ship leasing market, which is characterized by both challenges and opportunities in recent years, COSCO SHIPPING Development has actively grasped the opportunity of the green and low-carbon transformation of the shipping industry, researched and explored the market potential in niche areas, and accurately docked with customers' needs to provide solutions. With this transaction, the company has made efforts in the shipping industry chain, effectively promoted the linkage of “leasing, manufacturing and transportation”, provided customized and innovative services for customers through the combination of industry and finance, contributed long-term stable income and cash flow for the company, improved overall financial soundness, enhanced value creation ability, and realized win-win situation for both upstream and downstream of the industry chain.

The clear main business of the listed company

This transaction is another solid growth of high-quality ship assets after COSCO SHIPPING Development ordered bulk carriers and multi-purpose pulp vessels in the previous period. The company invested in high-quality shipping capacity of newer ship types, green and environmental protection, reasonable configuration and strong versatility, laying the foundation for further consolidation of high-quality assets for the company's shipping leasing business, highlighting the strategic positioning of shipping production and financing operators, and helping the company accelerate its progress towards the goal of value-based production and financing investors and innovative production and financing service providers.

Practice of RMB Internationalization

COSCO SHIPPING actively cooperates with shipping industry chain companies, deeply explores the application scenarios of RMB in “manufacturing, leasing and transportation”, and promotes the practical application of RMB in the international shipping field. Meanwhile, COSCO SHIPPING DEVELOPMENT will carry out debt restructuring to grasp the opportunities in the RMB capital market, and will combine with bond issuance to build up a financing cost advantage for the implementation of this transaction.

Green Assets for ESG

The vessels in this transaction are energy-saving and environmentally friendly green vessels, some of which are methanol reserved environmentally friendly bulk carriers with market versatility and circulation. These green ship assets will help the company to further cultivate ESG, and the company will help the green development of the shipping industry with the posture of a professional industrial ship leasing company and the advantages of industry-financing synergy.

Core competencies for ship chartering

COSCO SHIPPING Development carries out in-depth research and analysis on shipping market segments and ship leasing market, and provides customized production-financing service solutions to meet customers' needs. Meanwhile, COSCO SHIPPING Development has forged core advantages in shipping leasing business by virtue of its multi-channel capital financing capability, specialized operation guarantee capability and ever-improving science and technology transfer capability, which have shaped brand recognition and enhanced value realization.

The project of investing in the construction of 42 bulk carriers and leasing them out for a long period of time is an important milestone for COSCO SHIPPING Development to further solidify the foundation of its shipping leasing business and strengthen its value creation capability, as well as a prelude to further optimizing the allocation of resources and practicing sustainable development. The company will continue to explore the combination of production and financing, create a brand of production and financing, consolidate the leading position of industrial ship leasing company in China, and strive to build a world-class shipping production and financing operator with the characteristics of COSCO SHIPPING Development.