Greece signs strategic cooperation agreement with China on shipping finance

Shanghai’s Lujiazui Business District Council and the Hellenic Shipping Association of Banking and Financial Executives signed an agreement on strategic cooperation in the field of shipping finance at an online event today, Xinhua News Agency reported.

According to the participants of the event, under the terms of the agreement, the parties will create a cooperation network to stimulate interaction between shipping companies and financial institutions of the two centers of international shipping. Deputy Minister of Maritime Affairs and Island Policy of Greece Kostas Katsafados said during the meeting that the agreement “will further strengthen relations between the two countries in the financial sector.” According to him, the signing of the agreement testifies to the long-term nature of cooperation and the strength of ties between the two shipping centers.

Over the past decades, Greece and China have built a strong complementary relationship in the maritime sector. The Greeks control 25% of the world’s merchant marine fleet, K. Katsafados noted, adding that the connection with China, which is the world’s largest exporter, is obvious. He said that over the past 15 years, Greek shipowners have built more than a thousand ships in Chinese shipyards worth over $50 billion, and the total investment of Chinese banks in Greek shipping is $3 billion.

From the Chinese side, the agreement was signed by the representative of the Lujiazui Business District Council Chairmanship Group, Vice President of the Bank of Communications Huang Hongyuan, and from the Greek side, by George Xyradakis, President of the Association of Banking and Financial Executives of Hellenic Shipping.

Huang expressed confidence that, thanks to the agreement, the parties will receive additional benefits, as well as opportunities provided by the Belt and Road Initiative, to promote bilateral cooperation in finance, trade and other fields. He also noted the unrealized potential in the field of financial cooperation. He said the Sino-Greek financial Silk Road will become a pillar in the development of the shipping industry of both sides, since Shanghai, as an international financial center, can offer a variety of products and services in the financial sector.

G. Xyradakis, for his part, expressed the hope that “a new era has come in the financial system of international shipping.”

As of the end of 2022, China’s shipbuilding industry continued to rank leading position in the world, according to data from the China Shipbuilding Industry Association. At the end of 2022, the volume of work performed in this area reached 37.86 million dwt or 47.3% of the total global shipbuilding market. At the same time, the volume of new orders accepted and carried out by Chinese shipyards reached 45.52 million and 105.57 million dwt, respectively. Their global market share was 55.2% and 49%. According to the above indicators, six Chinese shipbuilding enterprises entered the top 10 world leaders in 2022, the association said.

Greece, for its part (more precisely, Greek shipowners), is the holder of the world’s largest tanker fleet, where South Korea is the leader in deliveries. The country now accounts for 91% of global LNG tanker orders, while China accounts for the remaining 9%.

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