On March 29th, China Shipbuilding Trading Co., Ltd. (CSTC) and Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Co., Ltd. (DSIC), two subsidiaries of China State Shipbuilding Corporation Limited (CSSC), and CITIC Financial Leasing Co., Ltd. (CITIC Leasing) held an online contract signing ceremony for 10 units of 65,000 DWT bulk carrier in Beijing, Shanghai and Dalian. Hu Kai, President of CSTC, Yu Xiudong, President of CITIC Leasing, Yang Zhizhong, Chairman of DSIC, and other leaders and guests attended the ceremony.

The said 10 units of 65,000 DWT bulk carrier project is the first time that CITIC Leasing has ordered newbuilding vessels under the operating leasing model. Pursuant to the relevant charter agreement, these ships will be operated by the first-class domestic shipping company after delivery, and will be used for the supply and transportation of national energy resources along the domestic coast and the Yangtze River. This cooperation between the parties is also a concrete implementation of the spirit of strategic cooperation agreement between CSSC and CITIC Groups. All parties will give play to their industrial and financial advantages in their respective fields, promote the coordinated development of industry and finance, and jointly contribute to the construction of China's marine power.

CITIC Leasing is an important strategic layout for CITIC Group and CITIC Bank to serve the real economy, which is wholly owned and established by CITIC Bank. By the end of 2021, the cumulative investment of CITIC Leasing exceeded 138.2 billion yuan, which is an effective supplement and value extension of CITIC Bank's financial service system. In recent years, CITIC Leasing has continuously expanded its service territory of the real economy, accelerated the strategic transformation and actively explored the market in the "big" leasing field such as ships and aircrafts. The successful contract signing fully demonstrates CITIC Leasing’s trust in CSTC and the shipyard, and demonstrates the market competitiveness of DSIC in the field of small and medium-sized bulk carriers. 

Founded in 1898, DSIC has created more than 80 "firsts" in the history of Chinese shipbuilding and witnessed the development process of China's shipbuilding industry from small to large. In the new era, DSIC has formed an overall layout of "one headquarter and four bases" with Dalian as its headquarter and coordinating the integrated development of Dalian, Shanhaiguan, Tianjin and Huludao.

As the main platform for the marketing of shipbuilding industry of CSSC Group, CSTC actively follows up and expands the domestic shipping market in the “dual circulation” development paradigm with the domestic market as the main body and the domestic and overseas markets promoting each other. CSTC has always maintained close contact with financial leasing shipowners, including CITIC Leasing. In this project, the relevant project team of CSTC overcame the impact of the epidemic, actively promoted the project, coordinated between the shipyard and shipowner to serve customer needs, and finally achieved an agreement in all aspects after multiple rounds of technical and commercial negotiations.

The ship adopts the new generation design of Shanghai Merchant Ship Design & Research Institute (SDARI), which can sail in the domestic offshore and on the Yangtze River to Nanjing with the maximum cargo carrying capacity while considering the draft limit. It adopts a new type of low-wind-resistance superstructure, excellent in hull shape, with energy saving and environmentally friendly advantages.

Written by Yan Hongfei

Proofread by Zhong Mao