In the recent China Shipping Financing and Leasing Summit organised by the Shanghai Shipping Exchange (SSE), Wang Jianmin, vice president of SSE, said the government will introduce favourable policies to support the depressed shipping industry, including shipping tax cuts or exemption and subsidies for old vessel recycling in the second half of this year.
Wu Xingbao, deputy director of Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce, said Shanghai will also offer more support in the ship financial leasing sector. “Financial leasing will help shipping companies ease their financial pressure and deal with the periodical fluctuation in the shipping industry,” he said.
“Currently shipping companies find it harder to get financing from banks,” said an official from the bank industry, “the banks have tightened their loan policy to shipping companies, and most of the loans are only offered to large state-owned companies,” the official said.