YANGZIJIANG Financial : YF8 0% announced on Wednesday (Jun 5) that its maritime fund entered into a joint venture with Alpha Omega Marine, a Singapore-based equity-investment vehicle specialising in maritime opportunities, to acquire a dry-bulk vessel.
Christened One and Only, the 40,000 deadweight tonne Handymax vessel is scheduled for delivery in July.
Such vessels typically transport a wide range of cargo, including minor bulks, grain and coal, on short-haul routes, said the mainboard-listed company. It added that these ships are valued for their flexibility – they can operate in smaller ports with limited facilities.
The investment arm spin-off of Yangzijiang Shipbuilding (YSL) said that the acquisition was made because demand for Handymax/Supramax bulk-carrier vessels is expected to stay resilient, even as the supply pipeline for them slows.
Fleet growth is expected to moderate from 3.4 per cent in 2023 to 2.4 per cent by 2025 on the back of various factors; one is the muted number of new orders being placed because of regulatory uncertainties, it said.
“The acquisition of One and Only was an opportunistic one, secured at an attractive price that the management believes will greatly add value to its existing portfolio of maritime vessels,” said the company.
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Yangzijiang Financial’s executive chairman and chief executive officer, Ren Yuanlin, described the joint venture as “an exciting milestone that aligns with (the group’s) growth objective of increasing its assets under management for its maritime fund”.
This acquisition comes amid concerns from shareholders that Yangzijiang Financial’s entry into the maritime sector would create a conflict of interest with its sister company YSL, in that both are in the maritime business and share the same controlling shareholders.
The company is seeking approval from its shareholders to diversify its core business into the maritime sector, loan services, as well as imports and exports.
Yangzijiang Financial, addressing the concerns in a bourse filing on May 26, said it “has no intention of competing in the shipbuilding segment, but will focus mainly on providing maritime services such as finance leasing, ship agency, ship broking, as well as providing secured loan services to maritime players”.
Shares of Yangzijiang Financial ended Wednesday at S$0.325, down S$0.005 or 1.5 per cent.
