Sabrina Chao and Kenneth Lam’s ship finance venture SeaKapital Holdings has come together with Chinese shipowner Seacon Shipping to set up a joint venture called Continental Kapital Shipping.
The 50/50 joint company will be based in Hong Kong, to try to elevate its standing as an international shipping hub.
“The alliance between the shipping groups of mainland China and Hong Kong represents a closer collaboration of the two countries, which is expected to contribute to augmenting China’s endeavours to be a modern shipping power,” said Continental Kapital.
The new company will focus on vessel acquisition, ownership, chartering, leasing and management of various types of vessels, including multipurpose (MPP) and heavylift ships, chemical tankers and dual-fuel car carriers.
Continental Kapital celebrated its establishment by launching the first two of six MPPs with a total investment of HKD 2bn ($257m).
The 62,000-dwt MPPs — to be named Cosco Shipping Ji Xiang and Cosco Shipping Ru Yi — are under construction at Huanghai Shipbuilding.
They are scheduled to be delivered in November and December, when they will begin long-term charters to Cosco Shipping Specialized Carriers.
Sabrina Chao, chair of SeaKapital, said: “Setting up of the joint venture not only supports the Central Government’s policy of promoting Hong Kong as an international shipping centre but also enables Continental Kapital to leverage the numerous advantages offered by Hong Kong, in particular, the city’s business fundamentals under the ‘one country two systems’ principle.”
“The Hong Kong advantages provide a solid foundation for the partnership’s long-term and successful cooperation.”
Kapital Holdings chief executive Kenneth Lam looks forward to the “increased collaboration among the different parties, including the vessels’ charterer Cosco Shipping and financier China Merchants Financial Leasing, in the future and to continue to contribute to China’s national shipping capacity and the development of its maritime economy”.
Seacon chairman Guo Jinkui said the establishment of Continental Kapital represents an important milestone in the development and history of his company and a concrete manifestation of the deep friendship and common vision shared by SeaKapital and Seacon.
“As a Chinese company listed in Hong Kong, Seacon is proud to support the development of Hong Kong’s maritime industry,” he said.
Seacon Shipping controls more than 30 vessels, including bulk carriers and chemical tankers, with a capacity of more than 1.4m dwt. It is also a third-party ship manager with more than 200 vessels under its management.
SeaKapital Holdings was founded by Chao and Lam in April 2023.
