China Shipping Container Lines Raises Rates

July 7, 2009

China Shipping Container Lines Co. said it’s hard to predict if rates will keep rising because fees reflect demand.
By staff reporter Zhou Lingling
(Caijing.com.cn) Signs of a recovery in demand have prompted some global shipping firms, including China Shipping Container Lines Co. (SSE: 601866; HKSE: 02866), to raise rates on selected routes effective July 1.
CSCL’s investor relations office told Caijing that the carrier raised rates on China-Europe and China-Mediterranean routes by US$175 per twenty-foot equivalent unit to about US$400, with a further US$50 hike from July 15 in the pipeline. CSCL also raised rates on routes to Australia, Africa and the west coast of South America, the official said.
Meanwhile, container lines participating in the North Asia/New Zealand Discussion Agreement – an alliance formed as ‘a voluntary discussion forum’ – said rates on services linking China and South Korea with New Zealand will rise US$250 per TEU from July 15.
The Canada Westbound Transpacific Stabilization Agreement also said its members raised rates for dry containers by US$160 per TEU, effective July 1.
Neither organization disclosed the new rates.
Several container shipping lines had to abandon planned rate hikes in April amid a sluggish market.
According to the Shanghai Shipping Exchange, China’s export container shipping index closed at 769.05 points on July 3, up 0.8 percent week-on-week, ending several weeks of declines.
The exchange said in a report that traffic on routes to Europe grew significantly in the run-up to the traditional July-August peak season as domestic manufacturers accelerated production and shipments. But the exchange also said that current rates don’t cover shipping firms’ operating costs on services to Europe.
Li Pan, an analyst at Bank of China International, said in a recent report that shipping firms are expected to raise rates to offset rising costs during the peak season and into the third quarter.
With oil prices inching higher, shipping lines’ fuel surcharges are also rising.
An official from CSCL said the company will raise fuel surcharges on services to Europe and the Mediterranean by US$75 per TEU this month. The Asia-West Coast South America Freight Conference also said it will raise its bunker surcharge to US$522 from US$450,  beginning July 15.
CSCL said it’s hard to predict if rates will keep rising because fees reflect demand. The global downturn has driven down container shipping traffic and rates.
CSCL’s net profit fell 96 percent last year to 131 million yuan, and it reported a net loss of 1.2 billion yuan in the first quarter of this year.
In Hong Kong on July 7, China Shipping Container was up 0.49 percent at HK$2.05, while in Shanghai its A shares were up 1.11 percent at 4.54 yuan.
China Shipping Container Lines Co. said it’s hard to predict if rates will keep rising because fees reflect demand.
By staff reporter Zhou Lingling
(Caijing.com.cn) Signs of a recovery in demand have prompted some global shipping firms, including China Shipping Container Lines Co. (SSE: 601866; HKSE: 02866), to raise rates on selected routes effective July 1.
CSCL’s investor relations office told Caijing that the carrier raised rates on China-Europe and China-Mediterranean routes by US$175 per twenty-foot equivalent unit to about US$400, with a further US$50 hike from July 15 in the pipeline. CSCL also raised rates on routes to Australia, Africa and the west coast of South America, the official said.
Meanwhile, container lines participating in the North Asia/New Zealand Discussion Agreement – an alliance formed as ‘a voluntary discussion forum’ – said rates on services linking China and South Korea with New Zealand will rise US$250 per TEU from July 15.
The Canada Westbound Transpacific Stabilization Agreement also said its members raised rates for dry containers by US$160 per TEU, effective July 1.
Neither organization disclosed the new rates.
Several container shipping lines had to abandon planned rate hikes in April amid a sluggish market.
According to the Shanghai Shipping Exchange, China’s export container shipping index closed at 769.05 points on July 3, up 0.8 percent week-on-week, ending several weeks of declines.
The exchange said in a report that traffic on routes to Europe grew significantly in the run-up to the traditional July-August peak season as domestic manufacturers accelerated production and shipments. But the exchange also said that current rates don’t cover shipping firms’ operating costs on services to Europe.
Li Pan, an analyst at Bank of China International, said in a recent report that shipping firms are expected to raise rates to offset rising costs during the peak season and into the third quarter.
With oil prices inching higher, shipping lines’ fuel surcharges are also rising.
An official from CSCL said the company will raise fuel surcharges on services to Europe and the Mediterranean by US$75 per TEU this month. The Asia-West Coast South America Freight Conference also said it will raise its bunker surcharge to US$522 from US$450,  beginning July 15.
CSCL said it’s hard to predict if rates will keep rising because fees reflect demand. The global downturn has driven down container shipping traffic and rates.
CSCL’s net profit fell 96 percent last year to 131 million yuan, and it reported a net loss of 1.2 billion yuan in the first quarter of this year.
In Hong Kong on July 7, China Shipping Container was up 0.49 percent at HK$2.05, while in Shanghai its A shares were up 1.11 percent at 4.54 yuan.
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Yuan seen to remain stable in long term

April 14, 2009

THE yuan may appreciate against the United States dollar over the short term but is more likely to remain stable in the long run, analysts said.

The Chinese currency dipped slightly against the greenback last week and ended at 6.8347 last Friday, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System. The yuan closed at 6.8320 by the end of the previous week.

The State Council, China’s Cabinet, last Wednesday picked Shanghai and four other cities in Guangdong Province to take part in a trial to settle overseas trade in the yuan rather than US dollars in a move to stabilize the trade and to build up the yuan’s position in the international monetary system.

“The trial settlement in yuan would favor the local currency and boost its appreciation in the short and middle terms,” according to a research note by Standard Charted.

Deng Xianhong, deputy head of the State Foreign Exchange Administration, last Friday said China “will move on with the trial of using yuan in overseas trade settlement and relax the cross-border financing restrictions to shore up support from foreign exchange to the economy.”

China’s exports last month fell by a slower pace of 17.1 percent from a year earlier to US$90.29 billion, the General Administration of Customs said last Friday.

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Trade Payment Rules Eased (Update1)

December 24, 2008

Companies in China previously allowed to collect %10 of prepayments on exports in foreign currency. Starting from today, now State Administration of Foreign Exchange increased prepayments to %25 on exports in foreign currency.Here is the news from Bloomberg by Li Yanping:

Dec. 23 (Bloomberg) — China will loosen regulations on the prepayments companies can receive when exporting goods to help their cashflow as the global financial crisis hits overseas sales, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange said today.

Companies will be allowed to collect 25 percent of prepayments on exports in foreign currency, up from 10 percent, starting from today, the regulator said on its Web site. The rules are being changed to “tackle the negative impact of the global financial crisis and to promote stable and relatively fast economic growth,” the statement said.

Expansion in the world’s fourth-largest economy is slowing as recessions in the U.S. and Europe stem demand for goods from the Asian nation. China’s exports fell for the first time in seven years in November and imports plunged. Two thirds of the country’s smaller toymakers closed in the first nine months on faltering demand, according to customs bureau data.

Importers will be allowed to make delayed foreign-exchange payments on shipments amounting to 25 percent of the value of the goods, up from 10 percent, today’s statement said.

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Yuan set to climb against US dollar this week

December 15, 2008

renminbiChinese currency yuan or renminbi was pegged to USD until 2005. Since then, the currency is allowed to appreciate unfavorably to those importing from China and to  factories in China making exports because it makes the Chinese exports expensive as USD lose its previous value. So, for those importing from China is better to closely follow the currency movements as it directly affects the purchasing costs. Here is the latest situation of renminbi as of 14th Dec:

THE yuan is likely to continue its appreciation against the United States dollar this week.

The Chinese currency edged up to finish at 6.8451 against the US dollar last Friday, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System. The yuan closed at 6.8482 by the end of the previous week.

Fan Gang, a central bank monetary policy committee member, noted the modest depreciation of the yuan in the previous week was normal amid short-term volatility, according to a report by Shanghai Securities News.

Meanwhile, the US last Friday said retail sales in the nation fell 1.8 percent last month for a fifth consecutive month amid weak consumer sentiment and tight credit in a deepening recession.

Source: Shanghai Daily

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Yuan Starts Making Exports Cheaper

December 3, 2008

yuanThe Chinese currecy yuan (renminbi) was in fall for the last 3 years until the Chinese economy started to be hit by global crisis. The currency has been stable for the last 3 months, but as the global financial crisis deepens and further affects Chinese economy, the yuan also started to decline,say, making the exports cheaper. Here is the news from Xinhua :

Yuan falls on talk currency decline is to help exports
By XINHUA

CHINA’S currency, the yuan, fell by the daily limit against the United States dollar for a second day yesterday, its fourth straight daily decline.

The yuan finished at 6.8870 per US dollar on the over-the-counter market, having declined 0.5 percent against its central parity rate. The central parity rate, announced by the China Foreign Exchange Trading System, was 6.8527 yuan per US dollar yesterday, compared with 6.8505 yuan on Monday.

On Monday, the yuan also fell by the 0.5 percent daily limit on the over-the-counter market to end at 6.8848 to the US dollar. Monday’s move marked the yuan’s biggest weakening since China ended the peg to the US dollar in July 2005.

The yuan’s central parity rate is based on a weighted average of market makers’ price inquiries before the market opens on each business day. The rate is allowed to fluctuate within a band of 0.5 percent on either side of the mid-point.

Zhao Qingming, a senior analyst at China Construction Bank, said the yuan depreciation resulted directly from a stronger US dollar.

“In addition, China has announced many pro-active fiscal and monetary policies to stimulate the economy, which fuels market speculation that the yuan might depreciate against the US dollar to help increase exports,” he said.

Ou Minggang, director of the International Finance Research Center at the China Foreign Affairs University, attributed the yuan’s depreciation to recent interest-rate cuts in China.

Last week, the People’s Bank of China, the central bank, cut the benchmark one-year yuan loan rate to 5.58 percent from 6.66 percent and the one-year yuan deposit rate to 2.52 percent from 3.60 percent. The 108-basis-point cuts were the fourth since mid-September and the largest since the late 1990s.

Ou said the weaker yuan could help support China’s exports.

Monday’s unusual yuan move buoyed shares of Chinese textile firms yesterday, betting the weaker yuan could help textile exports.

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