News / Cosco and SIPG invest in SAIC Anji Logistics as it boosts PCTC fleet

Cosco Shipping Holdings and Shanghai International Port Group (SIPG) have invested ¥2bn ($280m) in SAIC Anji Logistics, the shipping subsidiary of compatriot state-owned car maker SAIC Motor, as Chinese shipping companies continue to expand in the vehicle carrier segment.

The investment, equally divided between Cosco and SIPG, gives each a 10% stake in SAIC Anji, whose share capital will increase to ¥750m ($103m), from ¥600m ($82m).

The company is building a fleet of 14 pure car and truck carriers (PCTCs), of which a dozen are or will be ocean-going, and two ply Chinese coastal waters. Nine of the ocean-going PCTCs are being built by China Merchants Jinling and Jiangnan shipyards for delivery in 2025 and 2026.

Several Chinese automobile makers have built their own PCTC fleets in recent years, as the Covid pandemic resulted in under-investment in this segment.

SAIC Anji will use the investment to expand its international business, including building more PCTCs and developing logistical support for SAIC’s car exports, such as creating a door-to-door supply chain.

In 2023, SAIC exported 1.21m vehicles, and in the first 11 months of this year, the tally stood at 937,000.

Cosco Shipping Holdings, parent of Cosco Shipping Lines and Cosco Shipping Ports, said in a Hong Kong Stock Exchange filing, said investing in SAIC Anji would increase its presence in automobile transportation.

SIPG added, in the filing, that investing in SAIC Anji worked toward building the world’s largest ro-ro terminal, driving the development of Shanghai as a shipping hub.

SIPG and the Cosco group (through another member, Cosco Shipping Specialised Carriers) already have a history of collaboration with SAIC, having formed a joint-venture, Guangzhou Yuanhai Automobile Shipping, which operates two PCTCs that ship cars for BYD and other Chinese carmakers, such as Beijing Automotive and Chery Automobile.