Shipbuilding veteran Ren Yuanlin is chairman and CEO of Yangzijiang Financial Holding.Photo: Aurelien Foucault

Shipbuilding veteran Ren turns ship investor with $800m newbuilding spree Investment firm is bullish on maritime as it cuts its exposure to China

 

19 March 2025 1:10 GMT Updated 19 March 2025 7:43 GMT

By Irene Ang in Singapore 

Chinese shipbuilding veteran Ren Yuanlin is turning his investment house&rsquo s focus from property to shipowning, inking a string of tanker newbuildings worth close to $800m.

 

Ren-led Yangzijiang Financial Holding is said to have raised its tanker newbuilding tally to 22 with fresh contracts at four Chinese shipyards and is poised to book four handysize bulkers.

 

Yangzijiang Financial orders tanker quartet with order at Chinese shipyard

 

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The company&rsquo s order spree, some for its own account but more than half in partnerships with foreign shipping companies, follows the investment company&rsquo s strategy to reduce exposure to China &mdash particularly to the troubled real estate sector to focus on high-growth segments.

 

Yangzijiang Financial believes maritime will continue to present attractive investment opportunities, driven by stricter environmental regulations and increasing demand for alternative financing solutions.

 

Ren was the founder and former executive chairman of China&rsquo s largest privately owned shipyard, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding, and is widely recognised for the yard&rsquo s development from building feeder ships to a portfolio of gas carriers, VLOCs, mega-size container ships and tankers.

 

One shipping player said: &ldquo Yangzijiang Financial is tapping Ren&rsquo s knowledge of shipbuilding and the shipping industry to diversify into the shipowning arena.&rdquo

 

According to shipbuilding sources, on its own account, Yangzijiang Financial has four 50,000-dwt product carriers under construction at Jingjiang Nanyang Shipbuilding and is said to have returned to the yard to secure up to six further vessels.

 

The order involves four firm vessels plus an option for two additional ships.

 

The deal brings the number of firm MR tankers Yangzijiang Financial has inked at the yard to eight. Its four under-construction newbuildings were penned early this year.

 

Sources said the firm newbuildings are fully owned by the company but it is open to other entities taking stakes.

 

The carriers, each featuring 12 cargo and two slop tanks, were said to cost less than $45m each.

 

The yard is scheduled to deliver the firm vessels between 2026 and 2028.

 

The MR tankers will be built to meet the International Maritime Organization&rsquo s Tier III emissions standards for NOx and Phase 3 of the Energy Efficiency Design Index regulation.

 

Tanker deliveries surging past broker estimates with more to come

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But more than half of the newbuildings were ordered in partnership with foreign shipping companies.

 

Yangzijiang Financial has teamed up with an unnamed UK-based shipowner to order four 50,000-dwt product/chemical tankers with IMO II classification at Penglai Zhongbai Jinglu Ship Industry.

 

Sources said these ships are pricier than the MRs at Jingjiang Nanyang, as each newbuilding features 18 cargo tanks. They put the price at close to $50m apiece.

 

Jinglu is scheduled to deliver the quartet between 2026 and 2027.

 

Yangzijiang Financial is also working with a Singapore-based shipping company to order a series of stainless steel chemical tankers at the reborn New Jiangzhou Shipbuilding.

 

The order was for a quartet of 25,900-dwt vessels, costing about $50m each. New Jiangzhou is slated to deliver them in 2026 and 2027.

 

Teaming up with another Hong Kong-based shipping company, Yangzijiang Financial has commissioned Wuhu Shipyard to construct four 18,500-dwt MarineLine-coated chemical tankers costing a total of about $132m, or $33m apiece.

 

Wuhu is scheduled to deliver them at the end of this year and 2026.

 

One shipping source said the investment company inked the Wuhu contract some time ago but the order went unreported.

 

Strong newbuilding price bolsters Yangzijiang Shipbuilding&rsquo s earnings

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Sources said Yangzijiang Financial&rsquo s tanker order spree was partly driven by the profits made from the sale of two MR newbuildings last year.

 

It sold the 50,000-dwt product carriers to Greek company Thenamaris for $53m apiece, pocketing a profit of at least $12m per ship.

 

The Chinese investment house ordered the duo in 2023 at Yangzijiang Shipbuilding, paying slightly more than $40m each.

 

Thenamaris recently took delivery of the product carriers Seaexplorer and Seamerit.

 

Now, Yangzijiang Financial is looking beyond tankers, with shipping sources indicating the company is set to extend its order spree to bulkers.

 

The company is working with a Hong Kong-based company to order four 40,000-dwt handysizes costing about $30m per ship.

 

Yard for bulker order

TradeWinds is told that Yangzijiang Financial and its partner have not decided on the shipyard.

 

Yangzijiang Financial was spun off from Yangzijiang Shipbuilding in April 2022.

 

Yangzijiang Shipbuilding shares tumble nearly 18% after US targets Chinese-built ships

 

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Last month, the Singapore-listed investment company reported an increase of 51% to SGD 304.6m ($229m) in its earnings for the 2024 financial year.

 

Yangzijiang Financial said its maritime fund assets had grown 150% since the end of 2023, and income from maritime fund assets increased by nearly 1.5 times year on year to SGD 57.2m ($43m).

 

It has closed deals involving 66 vessels since inception.

 

Yangzijiang Financial said it has steadily expanded its maritime portfolio, which includes vessel ownership, finance leases, loan services and joint ventures in ship chartering, brokerage and import-export activities.

 

Meanwhile, the company&rsquo s debt investment business in China declined by 24% to SDG 1.2bn.

 

It has closed deals involving 66 vessels since inception.
Fast and furious indeed.