China Shipping to raise dollar borrowing to fund fleet growth

China Shipping Development Co plans to spend 23.4bn yuan ($3.37bn) on buying 59 vessels over the next five years to more than double its current capacity.

While cash flow will be enough to pay the first year's installment on the new vessels of around 5.5bn yuan, the company is ready to take out more dollar loans in coming years, thereby offsetting the impact of the rising Chinese currency, China Shipping's chief accountant is reported as saying. China Shipping's dollar-denominated debt is expected to reach as much as $1.4 billion by 2011, accounting for 75 percent of its overall debt, Wang Kangtian told on the sidelines of a shareholders' meeting. Dollar loans currently stand at roughly $300 million, or 55% of overall debt.

Read More