As part of the Shanghai local government’s plan for the city to become an international shipping centre by 2020, the local government has launched a RMB 50 billion ($7.6 billion) fund to invest in the city’s nascent shipping and shipbuilding industry, The MotorShip reports.
John Goss writes: Shanghai’s shipping investment fund will be mainly used for investing into the city’s ports, shipbuilding industries, modern maritime service industries plus the latest logistics. A management company for the investment fund, with a registered capital of RMB 200 million yuan has been created to oversee the fund’s administration and the fundraising.
The new investment fund, which has been in on the drawing board for two years, is said to be planning to raise RMB 5 billion yuan during its first phase of fundraising. A spokesperson from the Chinese city's publicity office declined to to reveal just where the investment capital will be raised or when the first round of the fundraising process will finish. It is known that China Shipping Investment Co Ltd, Shanghai State-owned Assets Operation Co Ltd., Guotai Junan Securities Co Ltd. and the Hongkou District State-owned Assets Operation Co Ltd all hold stakes in the newly formed management company.
Analysts say that the Shanghai shipping industry fund will be a much needed boost to the city’s shipping finance service sectors which are currently under-developed when compared with other major maritime centers. The Executive Vice Chairman of the Shanghai Finance Association, Zheng Yang commented in an article in January, 2011 (on the website of the People's Bank of China) that the City of Shanghai’s shipping industries account for less than one percent of the global shipping finance market.
Even though the city’s shipping sector is rapidly developing it is still a long way from satisfying the growing demands for financing and resource allocation that is required of a global shipping center, wrote Zheng. He also said that the the government of Shanghai should develop more preferential polices in order to establish and build those services in a move to creat a comprehensive shipping industry finance system that would encourage growth in the city’s shipping industries.
The launch of the this maritime investment fund for Shanghai comes soon after the recent announcement that two shipping insurance centres were set up in Shanghai in December, last year in another initiative aimed at enhancing the city's maritime financial services. Shanghai-based China Pacific Insurance (Group) launched a shipping insurance centre in Shanghai in December, 2010 aimed at providing services to cover vessels, cargo transportation, maritime energy, port property and marine liabilities. Another centre was also opened by PICC Property and Casualty, a subsidiary of the People's Insurance Co (Group) of China. Shanghai’s publicity office said that these financial upgrades of the city’s maritime industries will be accompanied by an improvement in its shipbuilding infrastructure.
In January, China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said on its website that the NDRC had given permission to the China State Shipbuilding Corp to start the construction of the second phase of a major shipbuilding center on the island of Changxing, which is close to Shanghai. This huge shipbuilding centre will include two shipyards that will have a combined annual shipbuilding capacity of 15 large vessels. The NDRC said that most of this new shipbuilding capacity will be used for building LNG carriers and large container ships.
John Goss writes: Shanghai’s shipping investment fund will be mainly used for investing into the city’s ports, shipbuilding industries, modern maritime service industries plus the latest logistics. A management company for the investment fund, with a registered capital of RMB 200 million yuan has been created to oversee the fund’s administration and the fundraising.
The new investment fund, which has been in on the drawing board for two years, is said to be planning to raise RMB 5 billion yuan during its first phase of fundraising. A spokesperson from the Chinese city's publicity office declined to to reveal just where the investment capital will be raised or when the first round of the fundraising process will finish. It is known that China Shipping Investment Co Ltd, Shanghai State-owned Assets Operation Co Ltd., Guotai Junan Securities Co Ltd. and the Hongkou District State-owned Assets Operation Co Ltd all hold stakes in the newly formed management company.
Analysts say that the Shanghai shipping industry fund will be a much needed boost to the city’s shipping finance service sectors which are currently under-developed when compared with other major maritime centers. The Executive Vice Chairman of the Shanghai Finance Association, Zheng Yang commented in an article in January, 2011 (on the website of the People's Bank of China) that the City of Shanghai’s shipping industries account for less than one percent of the global shipping finance market.
Even though the city’s shipping sector is rapidly developing it is still a long way from satisfying the growing demands for financing and resource allocation that is required of a global shipping center, wrote Zheng. He also said that the the government of Shanghai should develop more preferential polices in order to establish and build those services in a move to creat a comprehensive shipping industry finance system that would encourage growth in the city’s shipping industries.
The launch of the this maritime investment fund for Shanghai comes soon after the recent announcement that two shipping insurance centres were set up in Shanghai in December, last year in another initiative aimed at enhancing the city's maritime financial services. Shanghai-based China Pacific Insurance (Group) launched a shipping insurance centre in Shanghai in December, 2010 aimed at providing services to cover vessels, cargo transportation, maritime energy, port property and marine liabilities. Another centre was also opened by PICC Property and Casualty, a subsidiary of the People's Insurance Co (Group) of China. Shanghai’s publicity office said that these financial upgrades of the city’s maritime industries will be accompanied by an improvement in its shipbuilding infrastructure.
In January, China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said on its website that the NDRC had given permission to the China State Shipbuilding Corp to start the construction of the second phase of a major shipbuilding center on the island of Changxing, which is close to Shanghai. This huge shipbuilding centre will include two shipyards that will have a combined annual shipbuilding capacity of 15 large vessels. The NDRC said that most of this new shipbuilding capacity will be used for building LNG carriers and large container ships.