COSCO partners with leading Chinese energy company

COSCO partners with leading Chinese energy company Executives of Beijing, China-based transportation giant COSCO and Chinese energy firm Shen Hua Group signed a letter of intent for strategic partnership in Beijing Tuesday.
   The two companies aim to 'strengthen cooperation in respect of both domestic steam coal shipping and coal export services in order to achieve a win-win situation,' according to a statement from COSCO.
   Both firms are owned either in majority or in whole by the Chinese government and financial details of the deal were not released.
   COSCO Group operates a fleet of about 550 vessels. Besides its core container and bulk shipping businesses, the group is engaged in logistics, shipbuilding, ship repairing, terminal operation, financing, IT services, and real estate development.
   The Shen Hua Group is one of the 44 major backbone enterprises directly controlled by the Chinese central government. It is tasked with planning, exploring and running of the coal resources at the Shenfu Dongsheng coalfields. The firm also operates affiliated railway assets, power plants, port facilities, shipping fleet and coal liquefaction projects.
   Chen Biting, chairman of Shen Hua; Capt. Wei Jiafu, COSCO's president and chief executive officer; and Zhang Fusheng, executive vice president of COSCO Group, attended the signing ceremony. Wang Xiaolin, deputy managing director of Shen Hua, and Capt. Zhang Liang, vice president of COSCO, signed the letter of intent on behalf of their respective companies.