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China Exim Bank pledges support for higher value vessels

The Import & Export Bank of China will continue to lend support to higher value ships and offshore units, in view of the current market climate of an oversupply of conventional vessels.

Lee Hong Liang, Asia Correspondent

December 5, 2013

1 Min Read
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Chen Bin, deputy chief of traffic & shipping at China Exim Bank, said the bank has seen a marked increase in loans to higher specification vessels over the past year.

“There is a very serious overcapacity problem in the conventional shipping segment, and the problem will not go away if owners continue to order more vessels,” Chen told delegates at Marintec China 2013 in Shanghai on Thursday.

“We aim to support more specialised vessels such as LNG carriers, LPG carriers and offshore vessels,” he said.

From January to October this year, the Chinese bank signed deals of close to RMB10bn worth of financing for higher value units, amounting to about 80% of the bank's total portfolio. The deals include six LNG vessels, four semi-submersible platforms, four containerships of 10,000 teu capacity and above, and four VLCCs.

Compared to the whole of 2012, the higher value deals were worth about RMB7bn and accounted for 55% of the total portfolio.

“Under the current challenging market conditions, banks need to be more cautious on extending loans in order to manage counterparty risks and mitigate payment defaults,” Chen said.

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About the Author

Lee Hong Liang

Asia Correspondent

Singapore-based Lee Hong Liang provides a significant boost to daily coverage of the Asian shipping markets, as well as bringing with him an in-depth specialist knowledge of the bunkering markets.

Throughout Hong Liang’s 14-year career as a maritime journalist, he has reported ‘live’ news from conferences, conducted one-on-one interviews with top officials, and had the ability to write hard news and featured stories.

 

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