The China Shipowners’ Association has applied for membership to the Baltic Exchange for the first time.
The move comes as the country’s owners and operators engage further with the London-focused shipping indices provider and the Baltic seeks to maintain its influence.
“It reflects the more outward-looking approach of China in the context of shipping and it reflects the good standing of the Baltic in China,” said Baltic Exchange chief executive Jeremy Penn.
The 186-member shipowners’ association says it owns or operates 58m dwt in tonnage, which is about 4% of the global fleet.
While ownership and control within shipping is increasingly tilting to Asia, Hong Kong and Chinese companies comprise 8%, of the Baltic Exchange’s 600-strong membership base, which has remained largely static in recent years.
The Hong Kong Shipping Association had been a longstanding member but the 266-year old institution has traditionally relied mostly on London for its core support.
However with London’s importance in the global maritime sector diminishing, the Baltic opened its first satellite office, in Singapore, in mid-2007 and has since established a second, in Athens, as part of plans to position itself as a global entity.
Mr Penn attributed growing Chinese interest in the Baltic to the Singapore office presence but also to the employment of a Mandarin-speaking employee in the London office to reach out to the Chinese maritime sector.
Source: http://www.lloydslistdcn.com.au/archive/2010/august/17/chinese-owners-seek-to-join-baltic-exchange
“It reflects the more outward-looking approach of China in the context of shipping and it reflects the good standing of the Baltic in China,” said Baltic Exchange chief executive Jeremy Penn.
The 186-member shipowners’ association says it owns or operates 58m dwt in tonnage, which is about 4% of the global fleet.
While ownership and control within shipping is increasingly tilting to Asia, Hong Kong and Chinese companies comprise 8%, of the Baltic Exchange’s 600-strong membership base, which has remained largely static in recent years.
The Hong Kong Shipping Association had been a longstanding member but the 266-year old institution has traditionally relied mostly on London for its core support.
However with London’s importance in the global maritime sector diminishing, the Baltic opened its first satellite office, in Singapore, in mid-2007 and has since established a second, in Athens, as part of plans to position itself as a global entity.
Mr Penn attributed growing Chinese interest in the Baltic to the Singapore office presence but also to the employment of a Mandarin-speaking employee in the London office to reach out to the Chinese maritime sector.
Source: http://www.lloydslistdcn.com.au/archive/2010/august/17/chinese-owners-seek-to-join-baltic-exchange
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