A Greek-Chinese ship finance cooperation first announced in February went one step further this month, with the Hellenic side of the partnership taking roots in Shanghai.
The Association of Banking and Financial Executives of Hellenic Shipping, a group of Greece-based shipping bankers, revealed during the Pudong Shipping Week that it was setting up a dedicated dependency in Shanghai.
“The representative office in Shanghai will help stimulate communication between shipping companies and financial institutions from both international shipping centres — Greece and China — forming a mechanism for regular dialogue and mutual visits,” association president George Xiradakis said.
The Chinese side of the initiative is the Lujiazui Financial City Council in Shanghai, which is home to about one-third of China’s leasing industry and to half the country’s top 20 leasing players.
In a next step, the two sides will set up working groups to further strengthen and formalise the cooperation.
The Shanghai Financial Association will soon send a “large delegation” to Greece for that purpose, its secretary general Shuai Shi said.
The initiative rides on the coat-tails of extensive synergies between the two countries.
Over the past 15 years, Greek owners have built more than a thousand ships, worth more than $50bn.
Much of that activity is bankrolled by Chinese lenders, whose outstanding loans to Greek borrowers stood at about $3bn early this year.
A wave of corruption probes sweeping China’s financial system may be offering scope for new cooperation structures to grow.
“The continuation of an efficient and transparent process for the ship financing by Greek shipowners is of the utmost importance for both the Chinese and Greek shipping industries,” Xiradakis said.
