The basic situation of ship finance leasing and its risk prevention

1. Basic types of ship financial leasing

1. Direct leasing

Direct finance leasing is the most common method of leasing and occupies most of the market of ship finance leasing. Direct financial leasing refers to the ship leasing company, which directly purchases the ship formulated by the ship owner, and then rents it to the ship owner for use, and requires the ship owner to pay rent during the lease period. And it is clearly stipulated in the contract that after the completion of the transaction and the expiration of the contract, the ownership of the ship will be vested in a third party or the shipowner for a nominal price.

2. Sale-back finance lease

The key to sale-back financial leasing lies in the word "back", which refers to the ship leasing company's purchase of the ship owner's ship, during the purchase period, the ship owner continues to use the ship in the name of the lease, and pays the corresponding rent. In addition, it is stipulated in the contract that after the expiration of the lease, the ship will continue to belong to the shipowner for a nominal price. Equivalent to the sale of ships, shipowner leasing will eventually spread back to the shipowner's name. This leasing method can transform fixed assets into monetary funds and improve the efficiency of capital use.

3. Subfinance lease

The key of this kind of ship financing leasing method is the word "transfer", and it can be subleased several times, and financing mainly occurs in the process of subleasing. This way is similar to the middleman in the market trading, financing is the middleman to earn the difference in the link. Refers to the ship leasing company, first through the capacity of the lessor, and then as the identity of the owner, the ship to the user of the ship to use.

Ii. Factors to be considered in ship financial leasing

1. Financing factors of shipping enterprises

The investment and risk of shipping are relatively high, and the return and income are correspondingly low. The purchase of ships requires a large amount of capital, and the purchase of ships will be related to the survival and development of shipping enterprises. So the money to buy the ship is an important factor.

2 Innovative solutions for ship financial leasing

China's ship transport is basically divided into two parts, composed of domestic coastal transport ships and ocean transport ships market.

Ocean transportation mainly refers to the ship as the basis, engaged in foreign ports to domestic ports or safe ship transportation between foreign ports, this kind of transportation is professional, and the technical requirements are also very high, belongs to one of the focuses of ship transportation in China. Moreover, the relevant competent authorities of the government pay much more attention to the ocean transportation market than to the coastal transportation market. Use of ships for transport between coastal areas of the country. As a domestic coastal transport ship, the technical requirements are not high, the legal provisions involved are relatively simple, and the domestic coastal ships have the characteristics of small amount, small scale and low professional requirements. Existing leasing companies can get into the business relatively easily.

Iii. Risks of ship leasing

1. Exchange rate risk

Exchange rate risk refers to the risk caused by the fluctuation of currency exchange rate when the exchange rate of currency fluctuates and is unstable. In the process of leasing, if the ship changes hands between the two parties, two or more currency transactions will occur, resulting in exchange rate risks. However, if both parties use the same currency, such risks can be avoided. At present, the simplest leasing method is to use the same currency exchange, so that there is no exchange rate risk.

2. Ship quality risk

Quality risk refers to certain product defects caused by the shipyard's process problems in the manufacturing process of the ship, which affects the quality of the ship. This kind of risk often appears in the financial leasing of new ships. When the charterer finds that the ship has quality problems, he can directly refuse the ship leasing or delay the payment because of the defects, which creates risks for the ship owner.

In order to avoid such a situation as far as possible and reduce disputes and risks, the charters should draft a charter contract in advance, in which the risk liability for the defects of the newly built ships should be borne and dealt with, and it should be clear who and how to pursue responsibility and recover compensation from the shipbuilder, referred to as the claim.

Since the shipyard is selected according to the will of the charterer, the general financial leasing contract stipulates: "The charterer shall, at his own expense, arrange the inspection, acceptance and handover of the ship in accordance with the ship construction contract signed by the lessor and the charterer with the seller." The shipowner shall not be liable to the Charterer in respect of the present condition of the ship, the validity of the ship's certificate held, the existence of a maritime claim to arrest the ship, the existence of a maritime lien on the ship and any other defects in the ship and/or rights and the acceptance of the ship. However, if the fault of the third party personnel including the lessor causes damage to the ship, the use value decreases, and the safety and operation problems occur in the use process, the charterer must take the initiative to bear the responsibility. The charterer should take positive actions to make up for and compensate for the fault when the problem occurs. Only when this series of problems are reasonably solved can the stability of the ship property be guaranteed.

The shipowner should also exercise the shipowner's rights and take the initiative to bear the costs of unexpected risks and assume the responsibility of preventing the risks of the ship." Such a contract agreement clarifies the distribution of responsibilities, and can certainly regulate the process of ship leasing transactions and avoid the risks brought by ship defects to ship leasing transactions as far as possible.

3. Structural risks in the process of trading

First of all, the direct consequence of market risk is to cause debt repayment risk. The market risk in the shipbuilding industry mainly depends on its operating cycle. During the implementation of the project, if the market changes significantly and falls sharply, the default clause can effectively protect the lessor's income. However, when the default occurs, the lessee may have lost the ability to buy back and repay.

Through data analysis, the minimum average ship operating rate can be obtained, but in the actual situation, if there is a major change in the market and the market deteriorates, the average ship operating rate may be lower than this value. Moreover, the source of rent is not only the operation of the ship itself, but also the overall operating income of the group enterprise.

So the risk of debt repayment will be borne by the ultimate guarantor, while ensuring that the rent is paid. In the process of project construction, the rent payment does not only rely on the operation status and financial ability of a single lessee. The listed company will adjust all internal income, and the subsidiary company will pay rent to the lessor. Secondly, the direct factor that causes the final asset disposal risk is the residual value risk, because the residual value risk is uncontrollable.

Finally, whether the design structure of financial leasing projects is scientific and rigorous is mainly reflected in the possibility of resolving or sharing risks after the occurrence of default.

4. Risk prevention measures

No matter what kind of method is used, ship leasing generally has the following characteristics: the purpose of financing is to obtain all the financing and the right to use the ship at one time through this way of financing, and then pay the rent in installments. With this way of financing, the repayment pressure is small, and the company can have more cash. In addition, the rent payment is generally paid annually, which can generate sufficient cash flow in the early stage of the use of the ship and ease the repayment pressure for the loan construction of the ship. Make the enterprise's cash flow form a virtuous circle, conducive to the structure of assets and liabilities, financing risk is also smaller.

Compared with direct purchase, ship finance leasing is a very convenient way of leasing and financing, and ship lease financing is a long-term financing way of leasing transactions, which has certain advantages compared with other short-term financing.

For example, the main financing method in our country is bank loans, and ship leasing financing can provide greater convenience for enterprises. Ship leasing financing is characterized by a large capital base and a long time, generally buying a ship will cost hundreds of millions of yuan, but the overall scale of private enterprises is small, the cost of a ship exceeds the total value of the enterprise, the effective mortgage is insufficient, and the guarantee is difficult. Financial leasing pays more attention to the future development of enterprises. In the face of such a current situation, some emerging enterprises will have greater opportunities for competition.