Core Insights - The recent shipping finance salon in Ningbo gathered over twenty representatives from government, shipping companies, banks, and insurance institutions to discuss how to effectively support private shipping enterprises with financial resources [1][3] - As of September 2025, Ningbo has 171 shipping companies with a total capacity of 12.235 million deadweight tons, with over 90% being private enterprises. However, the proportion of loans actually flowing to private enterprises remains limited despite a total port and shipping economic loan balance of 133.129 billion yuan in Q1 2025 [1] - The strong cyclical nature of the shipping industry, high financing thresholds, and risk control difficulties have led to persistent financing challenges for small and medium-sized shipowners [1] Financing Trends - In 2024, the total financing amount for Ningbo shipping enterprises increased by 62.6% year-on-year, with financing leasing business seeing a remarkable growth of 108.6% [1] - The introduction of new ship mortgage loan products by Postal Savings Bank in Ningbo has already provided over 70 million yuan in credit to three enterprises within just ten days of launch [1] Leasing and Risk Control Innovations - Financing leasing is emerging as a key solution, with the number of leased ships in Ningbo doubling year-on-year in 2024, and financing amounts reaching 2.15 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of over three times [3] - The establishment of over 50 Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) companies for ship projects in domestic free trade zones has resulted in nearly 1.5 billion USD in signed contracts for the "Ship Benefit Lease" product [3] - The Ningbo Maritime Bureau is reshaping risk control models through the "Zhejiang Maritime Financial Service Platform," which constructs a credit evaluation system to support differentiated pricing [3] Collaborative Mechanisms and Funds - To address deeper bottlenecks, a collaborative mechanism involving government, enterprises, and financial institutions has been established, exemplified by the 20 million yuan emergency loan fund for shipping enterprises in Xiangshan County [3] - Various industry funds have been set up at provincial and municipal levels, such as the Zhejiang Province First-Class Strong Port Development Fund (target size of 5 billion yuan) and the Ningbo Marine Industry Fund (total size of 10 billion yuan) [3] - Industry funds are considered more professional and stable compared to bank loans, better aligning with the long-term needs of shipping enterprises [3]