China Merchants Commerce Financial Leasing (CMC Leasing), a lessor owned by Chinese state-owned conglomerate China Merchants Group, has bought its first container ship as it expands its shipping portfolio.
CMC Leasing confirmed that it has recently purchased the 2002-built 1,618 TEU Bal Peace from Oceanmoney Hongkong, a leasing unit of another Chinese state-owned group, Xiamen C&D Corporation.
Since mid-2021, the boxship Bal Peace had been on finance lease to Bal Container Line, a privately owned Chinese liner operator. In buying the ship, CMC Leasing took over as the lessor of the ship, which is deployed on intra-Asia lanes.
Container News was told that it is not uncommon for leasing companies to sell ships to one another, to make portfolio adjustments.
Initially, CMC Leasing concentrated on intra-group industrial and financial cooperation, by helping other China Merchants affiliates to sell products and services by offering finance and operating leases to customers.
CMC Leasing launched its ship leasing business in June 2021, buying seven bulk carriers from Minsheng Financial Leasing Co., Ltd, the leasing unit of China Minsheng Banking Corporation Ltd.
CMC Leasing now owns around 50 vessels, comprising more than 20 bulk carriers and more than 10 offshore vessels, with other ships including chemical/products tankers, LNG carriers, ro-ro cargo ships, cruise ships, and wind turbine installation vessels.
Martina Li
Asia Correspondent
