COSCO Shipping International
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| Industry | Shipping, Ship trading, Supply services |
| Predecessor | Shun Shing Holdings |
| Founded | September 9, 1991 in Bermuda |
| Headquarters | Hong Kong , Hong Kong |
| Products | Ship trading, Supply services, Marine paint manufacturing, Real estate development, Civil engineering projects, Marine insurance |
| Owner | COSCO Shipping (Hong Kong) (66.12% as of 2019) |
| Parent | COSCO Shipping |
COSCO Shipping International (Hong Kong) Co., Ltd., branded as COSCO SHIPPING International, was previously known as COSCO International Holdings Limited. It is a publicly traded company based in Hong Kong and operates as an indirect subsidiary of COSCO Shipping. The firm focuses on ship trading alongside providing supply services. Its headquarters are situated in Hong Kong, and it has been listed on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (SEHK) since 1992.
Registered as an offshore company in Bermuda, COSCO Shipping International is recognized as a red chip entity.
History
Since its initial public offering in 1992, the company has undergone several name changes, starting as Shun Shing Holdings, then COSCO International, and currently operating under the name COSCO Shipping International (Hong Kong).
Shun Shing Holdings
Founded on 9 September 1991 in Bermuda, Shun Shing Holdings was registered as a "foreign company" in Hong Kong in 1992 and made its stock market debut on 11 February 1992. It served as the parent company of Shun Shing Construction & Engineering, a Hong Kong-based main contractor with operations including a Singapore branch. The firm also entered into a joint venture with Low Keng Huat to win a significant residential development contract in 1994.
In 1997, China Ocean Shipping (Group) Corporation (COSCO) acquired the company. Post-acquisition, the firm encountered an accounting scandal linked to irregularities from previous management. This issue prompted legal proceedings involving the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants (HKICPA), which challenged its own sub-committee for inadequate audit supervision. The HKICPA sought judicial approval to reorganize the sub-committee and continue disciplinary actions against the auditors.
COSCO Shipping International (Hong Kong)
The Hong Kong branch of China Ocean Shipping (Group) Corporation (COSCO) took over the publicly listed company in 1997. Renamed COSCO International at that time, the business expanded its operations into real estate development, civil engineering projects, ship-related services, marine paint sales, and marine insurance offerings.
In 2001, under the Private Sector Participation Scheme, COSCO International developed Broadview Court—a public housing estate located in Wong Chuk Hang—selling units to the public through the Home Ownership Scheme facilitated by the Hong Kong Housing Authority.
The company divested eight floors of its office space within COSCO Tower to its parent entity, COSCO (Hong Kong), for HK$1.4 billion in 2005. Two years later, it sold its principal construction arm, Shun Shing Construction, back to the parent company.
At one point, COSCO International held a 16.85% shareholding in fellow listed property developer Sino-Ocean Group, ranking it as the second largest shareholder until it announced plans to exit this stake in 2010.
Following the merger of COSCO and China Shipping Group into China COSCO Shipping (COSCO Shipping) in 2015, the company adopted its current name: COSCO Shipping International (Hong Kong) Co., Ltd.. In pursuit of vertical integration, it acquired a marine paint manufacturing firm in 2018.
As of November 2020, COSCO Shipping International (Hong Kong) had a market capitalization approximating HK$4 billion (prior to free-float adjustment).
By December 2019, COSCO Shipping (Hong Kong), a privately held entity, owned a 66.12% controlling interest in COSCO Shipping International. This parent company is ultimately controlled by China COSCO Shipping—a Mainland China-incorporated corporation overseen by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) under the State Council—thereby classifying COSCO Shipping International as a red chip enterprise.
Other listed affiliates include COSCO Shipping Ports, COSCO Shipping Holdings, COSCO Shipping Development, COSCO Shipping Energy, and COSCO Shipping International (Singapore). However, none of these companies hold shares in or operate as subsidiaries of COSCO Shipping International (Hong Kong).
In 2017, COSCO Shipping International (Singapore) privatized another listed entity, Cogent Holdings; this transaction did not involve COSCO Shipping International (Hong Kong).