On August 18, shipping index futures were officially listed on the Shanghai Futures Exchange, in a bid to further enrich the futures variety system, enhance the breadth and depth of the futures market serving the real economy, elevate the shipping financial services, promote the construction of Shanghai’s international financial center and international shipping center, propel the influence of China's international trade and transportation services, and serve the construction of a national maritime and shipping power.
It is worth noting that the underlying index of shipping index futures is based on the Shanghai Export Container Settlement Freight Rate Index (European Route) released by the Shanghai Shipping Exchange. The index is released every Monday at 15:05 Beijing time, reflecting the changes in container settlement freight rates in the spot market exported from Shanghai to Europe.
The Shanghai Shipping Exchange, located at the North Bund of Hongkou, was established in 1996. It is China's first national water transportation trading element market. For over 20 years, the Shanghai Shipping Exchange has always been based on serving national strategies and deeply delved into the field of shipping indices. It has released 23 major categories of indices and over 200 indicators. Functional institutions, like the Shanghai Shipping Exchange, have gathered 40 at the North Bund.
Hongkou, located around a river, a creek, and a port, is the only urban area in the downtown area of Shanghai that runs through three water systems. It is also one of the birthplaces of modern shipping industry in Shanghai. Facing a new era, Hongkou is based on the urban development of the downtown area and the evolution law of the shipping service industry, and relies on the advantages of high-quality public service resources and industry characteristics, plans to promote the high-end shipping service industry with high standards. Especially in the past 10 years, the river has witnessed the transformation from a port to a new benchmark for urban development in the new era.
At present, the North Bund has formed a vibrant shipping service industry cluster, gathering over 4,000 shipping companies such as Mediterranean Shipping (MSC), COSCO Shipping, and Merchant Shipping Mitsui (MOL). It is the place with the highest concentration of shipping service enterprises in China. In addition to nearly 40 shipping functional institutions including the China Port Association, the China Shipowners Mutual Insurance Association, and the Shanghai Shipping Exchange, they are active in numerous shipping element enterprises such as shipping finance, maritime law, shipping transactions, and information consulting.
The listing of shipping index futures not only fills the gap in China's shipping derivatives but also brings new vitality to the Hongkou shipping service industry, further assisting Hongkou in building a core carrier area for high-end shipping service functions.
The release of the shipping index futures index not only helps financial centers strengthen resource allocation but also helps improve the service of the shipping center", said Zhang Ye, President of the Shanghai Shipping Exchange.
Meishu International Logistics Group, headquartered in Hongkou, is a comprehensive logistics service provider. Ge Shangen, Chairman of the Group and Chairman of the Hongkou District Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said that after the release of shipping index futures, it would further provide service guarantees for freight forwarding customers, balance the fluctuations in European freight rates in the second half of the year, and enhance the stability of the shipping market.
At present, Hongkou has gathered more than 2,000 financial enterprises with an asset management scale of over RMB 8 trillion. The enterprises include more than 20 securities firms and their branches such as Shanghai Securities and Caitong Securities, as well as more than 30 futures companies and their branches and subsidiaries such as Galaxy Futures and Guoxin Futures. It can provide a series of supporting services such as issuance, trading, and market-making for the shipping futures index. Besides, the participation of various funds will provide sufficient liquidity for the futures market, further promoting the in-depth integration of shipping finance.
Zijin Tianfeng Futures, located at the North Bund, is a financial enterprise specializing in comprehensive derivative services. It is full of expectations for the listing of shipping index futures: "As an important carrier area for the construction of Shanghai’s international financial center and international shipping center, the listing of shipping index futures in Hongkou will help promote the effective connection between the financial and shipping markets, and further enhance the level of regional shipping financial services
In the past two years, Hongkou has continued to focus on high-end shipping services, and the North Bund shipping industry has continuously extended and upgraded its chain. High-end shipping organizations and functional platforms are also accelerating their agglomeration here.
The shipping companies here have taken frequent actions. With the trend of green and intelligent development in the global shipping industry, they are continuously increasing the application and interaction of green, low-carbon, and smart scenarios, and promoting the development of the entire shipping industry. Two port and shipping companies, COSCO Shipping and Shanghai Port, continue to increase their layout efforts in Hongkou. COSCO Shipping's core platforms including the entire supply chain, container procurement, and intelligent container repair, as well as Shanghai Port Group's business sectors such as multimodal transportation in the Yangtze River Delta have successively landed at the North Bund.
Traditional shipping companies are actively transforming and upgrading, integrating into national development strategies. In their view, future shipping will comprehensively apply digital, networked, and intelligent technologies, and highlight the concept of ecological sharing and green and low-carbon development, which is an inevitable trend.
The North Bund has the industrial foundation, international perspective, environmental advantages, and development momentum to build an international maritime arbitration highland. It is believed that under the resource superposition effect of high-end shipping organizations and functional platforms, it can more effectively connect the world and promote the span and in-depth integration development of foreign undertakings in Hongkou and the international shipping industry.