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China's OBOR good for shipping: Khalid HashimChina's OBOR good for shipping: Khalid Hashim

China's massive One Belt One Road (OBOR) project will be good for shipping as a whole according to Precious Shipping boss Khalid Hashim.

Marcus Hand, Editor

June 1, 2017

1 Min Read
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Speaking at Nor-Shipping on Wednesday Hashim cited a Fitch Ratings report that as on 17 May this $900bn worth of projects had either been committed to, started or completed under OBOR.

“So you can see OBOR is taking shape, and taking shape quite quickly,” he said.

Projects include freight trains linking 15 European cities and China, and 10 ports along OBOR. For China it provide a market for its idle steel and cement capacity, labour intensive industries, and shifts production into lower cost and poorer locations in land.

Looking specifically at shipping Hashim said the impact as a whole was positive. “In terms of dry bulk this will increase the demand for dry bulk capacity. In terms of tankers, once the oil pipeline are there, there will be w big slowdown for crude tankers. In terms of container shipping having these land trade routes will compete more against air traffic than by sea traffic.

“At the end of day OBOR with all its mega-projects will create more jobs, more economic growth, more economic prosperity, and more consumer buying power and that will increase the shipping trade lanes in far greater way than anything else.”

Hashim sees a huge geo-political significance for China in OBOR. “Geopolitics has greater role in OBOR than most people really imagine,” he stated. It builds a buffer against American influence in the Pacific Rim and gains diplomatic capital for China in 65 countries, three continents and 4bn people.

Concluding Hashim said it offer the 21st century choice of China and OBOR or “America with its model where you try and bomb the country into democracy”.

Read more about:

ChinaPrecious Shipping

About the Author

Marcus Hand

Editor

Marcus Hand is the editor of Seatrade Maritime News and a dedicated maritime journalist with over two decades of experience covering the shipping industry in Asia.

Marcus is also an experienced industry commentator and has chaired many conferences and round tables. Before joining Seatrade at the beginning of 2010, Marcus worked for the shipping industry journal Lloyd's List for a decade and before that the Singapore Business Times covering shipping and aviation.

In November 2022, Marcus was announced as a member of the Board of Advisors to the Singapore Journal of Maritime Talent and Technology (SJMTT) to help bring together thought leadership around the key areas of talent and technology.

Marcus is the founder of the Seatrade Maritime Podcast that delivers commentary, opinions and conversations on shipping's most important topics.

Conferences & Webinars

Marcus Hand regularly moderates at international maritime events. Below you’ll find a list of selected past conferences and webinars.

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