China Development Bank (CDB) has confirmed that it is evaluating options for its ship leasing business, including a possible sale.
The Hong Kong-listed CDB Leasing said in a filing that its controlling shareholder is assessing business operations, including a potential share transfer.
According to local media, CDB, which holds a 64.4% stake in the ship leasing giant, has been in talks with Shenzhen Investment Holdings to offload its controlling interests since last year but has yet to reach a deal.
CDB Leasing halted trading earlier this week, saying it had noted media reports regarding the potential sale, adding that China Development Bank has continued “to deepen reforms and initiated an assessment in relation to the relevant businesses of the company, including exploring plans such as a potential transfer of the company’s shares”.
The sale was reportedly expected to take place by the end of June, which may be one of the reasons why CDB Leasing’s shares experienced a flash crash last week, with the stock price hitting a seven-month low.
Other large shareholders have offloaded or are also considering selling their shares. China Reinsurance, the former fourth largest shareholder, has been continuously reducing its holdings, which some market sources indicate may have also led to the sharp drop in the share price.
For its part, CDB said that so far no definitive agreements have been reached as to whether to proceed with any related transaction.
Last year, data from the shipowner association BIMCO showed that five of the 10 largest Chinese shipowners are leasing institutions, including CDB, which controls a diversified fleet of more than 200 ships.
