The China Shipping Group plans to set up a RMB 300million (US$44 million) joint venture with four of its subsidiaries to provide financial and financing advisory services to companies under the group's umbrella.
The new venture, called China Shipping Finance Co, will serve as a platform for the joint venture partners and their subsidiaries to share excess liquidity.
The CS Group, CSCL and oil and bulk cargo carrier, China Shipping Development will each invest US$10.95 million to take a 25 percent stake in the new firm.
Guangzhou Maritime Transport, a wholly owned subsidiary of CS Group, which is engaged in non-container vessel leases, hotel services, healthcare and property management businesses, will take a 20 percent stake. Another subsidiary, near-sea shipping firm China Shipping Hainan Haisheng Shipping, will take a five percent stake.
Apart from financial advisory services, CS Finance would also provide credit verification services and related consulting and agency services to the partners and their subsidiaries or related companies, CSCL said.
In other news, China Shipping is to issue up to US$732 million of bills to help fund ship orders and pay off bank debt.
The major Chinese coal and oil carrier said that the bills, with a maturity of no more than ten yeas, would be issued to institutional investors in the interbank market. Other details have not yet been decided.
Tracey Jia
