“We will expand LNG transportation business to make it become a new profit growth driver as soon as possible. The deal means a 20-year shipping contract for us, which will bring us stable earnings,” Li told reporters in Hong Kong.
The LNG tanker purchases will be made by a venture owned by Sinopec Group, CSDC and Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL), and each tanker will have a capacity of 174,000 cbm.
CSDC cfo Wang Kangtian added that the company has arranged syndicated loans to finance the acquisition of the vessels, which cost about $205m each.
Chinese yard Hudong Zhonghua Shipbuilding Group will build the LNG tankers, according to Wang. CSDC is in talks with two other Chinese shipyards to build an additional four units.
CSDC had announced in its results statement earlier this week that it plans to promote its LNG business by exploring new LNG transportation projects and establishing its own LNG fleet.
The Hong Kong and Shanghai-listed company managed to achieve a 2012 net profit of RMB73.74m ($11.85m), a plunge of 93% compared to a profit of RMB1.06bn in 2011.
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