CPO Holding (GmbH & Co.) KG, the head company of what is widely known as the Offen Group, has sold a pair of 8,000TEU ships to SPDB Financial Leasing (SPDBFL), the leasing unit of Shanghai Pudong Development Bank.
The sister ships, MSC Busan and MSC Charleston, built by Hanjin Heavy Industries & Construction in 2005 and 2006, respectively, have been on long-term charter to MSC since their construction.
Traditionally, the Offen group’s container ships have been chartered-out on a long-term basis to liner operators such as MSC, CMA CGM and Hamburg Sud.
The group’s container ship fleet has been largely grown through KG funds initiated by CPO’s principals, primarily Claus-Peter Offen and his son, Claus Oliver Offen.
Established in 2012, SPDBFL started out as a lessor of commercial aircraft, before foraying into ship leasing in 2018.
Despite Shanghai Pudong Development Bank’s strong presence in the Chinese banking scene, SPDBFL’s market share in ship leasing remains small compared with its rivals, such as Bank of Communications Financial Leasing, ICBC Financial Leasing and CMB Financial Leasing. The bank remains largely controlled by the Chinese government, through Shanghai International Group, China Mobile Communications Group and FunDe Sino Life Insurance.
SPDBFL has been growing its shipping portfolio with the acquisition of container ships, which is now the dominant vessel type in its 19-ship fleet, 10 of which are container vessels, including seven neo-Panamax container ships that SPDBFL purchased from French line CMA CGM in July 2019.
Martina Li
Asia Correspondent
