A Growing Chinese Ship Financier

Asian banks tend to have a domestic or regional focus with a relatively limited role in global ship finance, but it is always our belief that the crises of global disequilibrium have provided them with the opportunity to gain prominence over the medium and long term. Last year, for the very first time, ICBC reported their shipping loan portfolio figures to Marine Money and we view this as the result of the increasing confidence the bank is eluding in its ship financing business.

This year, we are delighted that ICBC has once again provided us with their shipping loan portfolio figures at the end of 2009, and despite the challenging market conditions, ICBC managed to grow its book by 115% from USD 2.2 billion in 2008 to USD 4.74 billion last year. In terms of assets, bulk carriers form the majority 59.4% in the portfolio while container vessels and tankers took up 19.2% and 16.3% respectively. 2009 was a difficult year but ICBC remained supportive to both its foreign and domestic shipping clients with good track records and sustainable business models.

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