China Development Bank Financial Leasing (CDB FL) has signed a letter of intent to build up to 12 bulkers at the freshly re-opened New Dayang Shipbuilding.
The move comes as CDB FL expands its operating lease portfolio.
CDB FL head of shipping Xiong Jianfeng denies the suggestion any of the New Dayang ships could be built on spec for in-house trading.
“We would never build any ship before we have the charter,” Xiong told TradeWinds at a yard event today. “That is only a rumour.”
The ships will be a mix of ultramax and kamsarmax sizes .
CDB FL is understood to be in talks with several potential charterers.
The move by the leasing arm of China’s large domestic oriented policy bank has drawn talk in Chinese shipfinance circles that CDB FL aspires to join ICBC Leasing, Minsheng Financial Leasing, and Bank of Communications Leasing (BoComm Leasing) in evolving from shipfinance to pure shipowning.
“No, they are more aggressive than we are,” said Xiong.
New Dayang, controlled by a former creditor, state owned Sumec Marine, is a continuation of the bankrupt Yangzhou Dayang shipyard, formerly part of Simon Liang Xiaolei’s Sinopacific Shipbuilding.
CDB FL’s Xiong and Sumec Marine general manager Xu Gang signed the letter of intent today, together with New Dayang managing director Xu Bin, before an audience of local Jiangsu province officials on the occasion of the shipyard’s grand reopening.
The reopening ceremony also included the delivery of New Dayang’s first completed ships, a pair of ultramaxes for another state-owned lessor, Avic International Leasing.
Managing director Zhu Jiafeng attended to take delivery of Aries Confidence and Taurus Confidence, which will go on charter to Cargill.
Avic’s eight-ship series at New Dayang also includes two more that were near completion when Avic took them over, the former Angelakos ships Oceania Graeca and Europa Graeca.
Four more ultramaxes that complete the Avic series are are being built from scratch.
