On June 1 local time, Yi Huiman, Chairman of the Board of Directors of ICBC, and Jochen Dohle, CEO of Peter Döhle Schiffsfahrt, signed a ship financing loan agreement under the witness of Premier Li Keqiang and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Under the agreement, ICBC will provide USD 200 million for Peter Döhle to order 10 container ships and bulk cargo ships in China’s Jiangsu Yangtze River Shipyard and Hanchang Shipyard. In addition, this agreement is included on the list of fruits for Premier Li Keqiang’s official visit to Germany and annual meeting with German Chancellor.

According to an official with ICBC, it is a major project to implement Sino-German cooperation on production capacity and support Sino-German economic and trade exchange. Financing a well-known German shipping company will both boost the development of local shipping industry and provide strong support for Chinese shipbuilding companies to go global.

Peter Döhle Schiffsfahrt is Germany’s largest family-owned shipping business. Currently owning 103 ships, it is managing more than 500 ships, with business covering container ships, dry bulk cargo ships and multi-purpose ships. The company began to order ships from Chinese shipyards since the 1990s. With 50 ships in its fleet made in China, the company is currently the largest importer of ships in Germany.