COSCO SHIPPING Development : Anchoring in Value Creation to Promote Sustainable DevelopmentCOSCO SHIPPING Development A...

Over the evening of August 30, COSCO SHIPPING Development (601866.SH/02866.HK) disclosed its 2023 semi-annual report. As shown in the report, the Company achieved operating revenue of RMB5,718 million and net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company of RMB1,101 million in the first half of 2023, with net profit in the second quarter showing growth as compared with that of the first quarter.

In the first half of 2023, against the backdrop of complex and evolving internal and external environment and the profound transformation in shipping industry, the Company anchored in shipping industrial chains by upgrading industrial synergy advantages, reinforcing its lean management and accelerating digital transformation and scientific innovation, so as to further advance its high quality development.

Focusing on shipping industrial chains to leverage synergy advantages

In the first half of 2023, the Company's shipping leasing business recorded operating revenue of RMB3,664 million, including vessel leasing business's operating revenue of RMB1,241 million. The Company fully leveraged the synergy advantages of industrial chains featuring the "integration of leasing and manufacturing as well as leasing and shipping" by continuing to optimize the business model of industry-finance integration for the fleet, and achieved steady improvement in revenue for vessel leasing business. The container leasing business recorded operating revenue of RMB2,423 million. The Company actively expanded its leasing markets in terms of reefer container and special container business, and its diversified businesses have made a breakthrough as evidenced by the container leasing business maintaining steady rental rates of 99%. The container manufacturing business recorded operating revenue of RMB3,591 million. The Company persistently strengthened technological innovation, bolstered its customized R&D and manufacturing capabilities, expanded its presence in the specialized container sector, thus effectively positioned itself in green environmental protection and intelligent manufacturing.

Advancing guidance in science and technology to empower business development

The Company intensified its efforts in science and technology guidance by enhancing the level of digitization and continued to drive digital transformation and scientific innovation to empower the business development. Shanghai Universal, a subsidiary of the Company, actively researched the innovative application scenarios of containers oriented by customers' demands, and promoted the market development such as open-top containers, foldable containers and energy storage containers to realize breakthroughs in key projects. The Company's self-developed folding frame container successfully rolled out, facilitating the convenient transportation of automobiles and other large-scale cargos. In addition, the first all-integrated energy storage container was successfully launched, contributing intelligent solutions for global energy storage products. Furthermore, our first containerized experimental farm was officially put into operation, advancing new agricultural development.

The Company is committed to promoting "digitalized, networked and intelligent" transformation to drive the iteration and upgrading of digital and intelligent empowerment. In the first half of the year, the Company continued to speed up the implementation of the Company's digital transformation plan by focusing on the construction of the "Shanghai Universal Digitized Plant" (上海寰宇数字化工厂) and the "iFlorens Digitized Operation Platform" (iFlorens数字化运营平台) to improve the industrial chain efficiency via data connection. The digital disposal scenario of retired containers of iFlorens Digitized Operation Platform from Florens, a subsidiary of the Company, won the Second Prize of the First "State Enterprise Digitized Scenario Innovation Professional Competition" (国企数字场景创新专业赛).

Practicing green shipping for resilient growth

The Company fully promoted the Yangtze River electrified container vessel demonstration project, and two electrified container vessels with the largest tonnage of 700TEU in China commenced their construction successfully, marking a significant breakthrough in the application of pure battery-powered ships in the inland waterway field. The containerized power supply developed by the Company has been certified by China Classification Society (CCS) and has completed the first batch of battery box for joint commissioning and testing, which has facilitated the smooth progress of electric vessels. In the future, the Company will continue to dedicate itself to the promotion and application of electric vessels in domestic inland coastal waters, and provide green zero-carbon shipping solutions.

Optimizing corporate governance for value enhancement

The Company continued to improve its corporate governance and standardized operations, and dedicated to creating value for its stakeholders. In the first half of the year, the Company was awarded the "5A Rating for Secretaries to the Boards of Listed Companies in 2022" (2022上市公司董事会秘书5A评级) for its excellent performance in information disclosure and investor relations. Also, the Company was selected as a constituent stock company of the first batch of CSI Guoxin Central SOEs Shareholder Return Index (中证国新央企股东回报指数成分股公司) based on stable investor returns and capital market performance. Furthermore, the Company's ESG governance work bore fruits, earning it a place in the first "Sustainability Yearbook 2023 (China Edition)" (《可持续发展年鉴2023（中国版）》) by S&P Global and the title of "Most Progressive Enterprise in the Industry" (行业最佳进步企业).

Onwards, the digital, intelligent and low carbon transformation of global shipping logistics ecosystem will bring brand-new opportunities for shipping industrial chains albeit the global economy and trade remaining to be complex and dynamic. The Company will seek new opportunities amidst challenges and create a new landscape amid uncertainties, stay firmly on its development orientation by emphasizing on empowering its main business, focusing on industry-finance integration, and concentrating on overcoming difficulties, so as to further promote the Company's high-quality development to new heights, and strive to build a world-class shipping and industry-finance operator.