CHINA SHIPPING SUBSIDIARY ADDS 14 OIL AND BULK CARRIERS

CHINA SHIPPING SUBSIDIARY ADDS 14 OIL AND BULK CARRIERS

   China Shipping Development Co., a subsidiary of China Shipping Group, said that it will add 10 oil tankers and four bulk carriers to its operations.

   The Chinese shipping company said that it aims to meet increasing crude oil shipping requirements, which currently amount to 70 million tons a year in China.

   China Shipping Development already has orders for nine tankers: four 42,000-ton oil tankers ordered in 2000, three 110,000-ton and two 42,000-ton oil tankers ordered in 2002 and one 110,000-ton ship ordered this year.

   At the beginning of 2003, the company also chartered one 110,000-ton tanker from a another company of the group.

      China Shipping Development said that it expects to build four dry bulk cargo vessels with a total capacity of 228,000 tons.

   China Shipping Development expressed confidence that the volume of Chinese domestic and international trade would increase steadily this year, leading to higher demand for shipments of coal, ores and oil.

   Last September, the company sold its 25-percent shareholding in China Shipping Container Lines to its parent company, China Shipping Group.

   Listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange and bound by financial reporting rules, China Shipping Development provides a window into the operations of China Shipping Group, which is not a public company.

   Following the further opening of China’s domestic coastal shipping market, China Shipping Development said that it will monitor closely the changes in the shipping market and the changes in the strategic policies and the relevant laws and regulations of China.