ICBC Financial Leasing to boost offshore marine portfolio by half
The mainland's leading leasing firm will cash in on the rout in oil prices with a planned expansion focusing on the oilfield services market
While an oil price rout has battered many, it has also opened up opportunities for non-bank financial institutions to meet rising demand for alternative financing from companies whose cash flow has evaporated with the plunging oil market.
ICBC Financial Leasing, a wholly owned subsidiary of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, plans to expand its offshore marine portfolio by half, or 10 billion yuan (HK$12.5 billion) this year, with a focus on oilfield services firms.
"When the offshore marine market is in a bad shape, it's actually a good time to do deals," its shipping division managing director, Yang Changkun, said at the Sea Asia conference in Singapore yesterday.
ICBC Financial Leasing, the mainland's leading leasing firm, had a portfolio of 235.6 billion yuan at the end of last year, spread across the shipping, marine, aviation and heavy machinery sectors.
The firm has 20 billion yuan in its offshore marine portfolio, including deepwater drilling rigs and offshore supply vessels, which provide logistics support between shore-based operations and mobile drilling units.
"The prospective clients we are dealing with now tend to be more serious, because a gloomy market has driven away speculators," Yang said. "Now many more oilfield services firms around the world are willing to sit down with us. Asset prices are low. It's a good time for us to increase our presence in the market."