Hong Kong’s Wah Kwong is plotting growth through its three-pronged approach to shipping, while focusing on decarbonisation.
The Chao family-owned group’s executive chairman, Hing Chao, said in its latest diversity and resilience report: “The world is at a crossroads with three main factors at play: geopolitics, decarbonisation and digitalisation.
“The changes that are happening are disruptive at a fundamental level and are reshaping global seaborne transportation as we know it.
“Since rejoining Wah Kwong in 2016 I have felt the need to diversify our business — geographically and operationally — to create greater resilience in an increasingly volatile environment,” he added.
Chao explained the company has evolved from a traditional shipowner into an integrated shipping group.
“We now have three parallel and synergistic business units — shipowning, ship management and ship operator,” the chairman said.
Shipowning remains a cornerstone for Wah Kwong, Chao added. The company controls tankers and bulkers.
“We aim to strengthen our position as a first-class tonnage provider, move with the trend and become an enabler of future ships,” he said.
The aim for ship management is to build scale while continuing to provide best-in-class service.
“As for ship operations — our latest business unit — building on our extensive partnerships in Asia and Europe, our aim is to become the preferred medium-sized ship operator for dry bulk business,” Chao added.
Wah Kwong has set up a sustainability investment unit in London and a technical committee based in Hong Kong focusing on the latest decarbonisation and smart technologies.
New bulkers joining the fleet
The owner has also taken delivery of three new eco-design ultramaxes this year, with the final ship due early this year.
Managing director William Fairclough said the dry bulk business operating under the Venture Shipping umbrella has continued to go from strength to strength, with encouraging trading performance throughout 2023.
There has been a “landmark return” to the Japanese long-term chartering market with the conclusion of two deals with Japanese owners, he added.
“The Japanese market introduces an interesting foil to our established long-term chartering business in China, which continues to grow apace,” Fairclough said.
“This year has seen us cement our position as a key player in the Chinese long-term chartering market and the mid-size bulk carrier platform we have built offers exciting growth potential in the coming years,” he added.
