Seasoned investors in the Singapore stock market would be familiar with the Yangzijiang (YZJ) name. From one counter, the YZJ brand now has three entities listed on the Singapore Exchange: Yangzijiang Shipbuilding, Yangzijiang Financial and Yangzijiang Maritime Development.

 

The most recently listed entity, YZJ Maritime, was spun off from YZJ Financial and listed on the Mainboard in November 2025. YZJ Financial was spun off from YZJ Shipbuilding and listed in April 2022.

 

Despite being less than six months old on the exchange, YZJ Maritime is attracting more analyst attention. In his April 6 initiation report, PhillipCapital&rsquo s Glenn Thum rates the counter a &ldquo buy&rdquo at a target price of 69 cents. Similarly, Ho Pei Hwa from DBS initiated a &ldquo buy&rdquo rating on April 8 with an even higher target price of 88 cents.

 

YZJ Maritime operates across three segments: maritime business (investments, financing and services), cash management and other non-maritime investments. In FY2025 ended Dec 31, 2025, the company reported net profit attributable to shareholders of US$129.7 million ($165.6 million) and total income of US$142.4 million. It held approximately US$1.6 billion in net assets, with no borrowings and US$400 million in cash, which represented 27% of its market capitalisation.

 

Unique business model

Delving into YZJ Maritime&rsquo s business, Thum notes that the company is a &ldquo one-stop&rdquo platform for maritime financial solutions, acting as a &ldquo strategic hub&rdquo that connects all participants in the maritime ecosystem &mdash shipyards, shipowners, charterers and capital markets &mdash to create and capture value at every stage. Ho shares similar views, describing the firm as an &ldquo integrated&rdquo maritime investment platform, backed by the YZJ ecosystem and veteran Chinese shipbuilder Ren Yuanlin&rsquo s stewardship.

 

From Thum&rsquo s perspective, YZJ Maritime &ldquo captures value&rdquo at every stage of the vessel lifecycle (Figure 1). This includes newbuilding procurement margins of up to 20% below first-tier shipyard prices, charter income from operations, interest on finance leases and capital gains on vessel sale. As at end-2025, the firm has a portfolio of more than 80 vessels with up to 50 newbuilds in the pipeline.

 

With YZJ Maritime not owning or operating shipyards, both Thum and Ho describe the business as &ldquo asset light&rdquo , with the firm leveraging strategic partnerships to optimise construction costs, maintain flexibility, and scale while managing balance-sheet risk.

 

The way Thum sees it, the advantages of the model include: diversified income streams which reduces dependence on any single revenue source asset-backed nature of financing which protects against downside risks a proprietary deal pipeline that standalone shipowners or pure financiers cannot replicate and targeted unleveraged project internal rate of returns of 10%&ndash 15%, with the potential to reach 20%&ndash 30% through leverage.

 

From Ho&rsquo s perspective, YZJ Maritime provides stable income and resilience across cycles as shipping and shipbuilding tend to be counter-cyclical due to lag effects. She is confident in the business&rsquo s growth optionality from newbuilds and defensive nature, with predictable income from charters and finance leases supporting a defensive yet high-growth profile of 15%&ndash 20% CAGR with an attractive dividend yield of 3%&ndash 4% within the shipping sector.

 

Strengthening shipping cycle

With data showing vessel prices at 15-year highs, indicating an upswing in the shipping cycle, this is another factor fueling Thum&rsquo s confidence in YZJ Maritime. Pointing out that FY2025 revenue mix changed significantly with cash management decreasing 56% to US$33.5 million and the maritime business segment increasing by 61% to US$69.9 million, Thum believes the pivot to the maritime business provides the company with &ldquo significant runway&rdquo .

 

Meanwhile, Ho believes the firm is uniquely positioned to capitalise on the shipbuilding upcycle, citing the proprietary deal pipeline, the company&rsquo s ability to underwrite complex, asset-backed maritime transactions, and its diversified investment approach as underlying factors for her positive outlook.

 

On the back of a strengthening shipping cycle, YZJ Maritime&rsquo s strong balance sheet and business model unlikely to be replicated, Thum believes the company&rsquo s shares are worth a &ldquo buy&rdquo . Based on the one-time FY2026 estimated P/B, he values the company at 69 cents per share.

 

Ho believes YZJ Maritime&rsquo s current valuation of 0.9 times of FY2026 forecasted P/B and 11 times of forecasted P/E is &ldquo undemanding&rdquo relative to the growth outlook. She values the counter at 1.4 times the P/B multiple, representing a valuation of 88 cents per share, in line with global peers, which are valued at 17 times forecast P/E.