A Chinese bank has promised to lend CNY 20 billion (USD 2.8 billion, EUR 2.6 billion) in the near term to the distant-water fishing industry in the southeastern province of Fujian.
Fuzhou-based Haixia Bank has signed a strategic framework agreement with the provincial Ocean and Fisheries Bureau, pledging to lend CNY 100 billion (USD 14 billion, EUR 13 billion) in the province's marine-related fields over the next five years, with CNY 20 billion (USD 2.8 billion, EUR 2.6 billion) of that earmarked as credit for local distant-water fishing firms.
Firms set to benefit from the lending include Fuzhou Hongdong Pelagic Fishery Co., which in October 2024, signed a memorandum of understanding with the Argentine province of Santa Cruz that could see the area become a hub for Chinese fishing operations.
Another firm likely to benefit is Fuzhou Hong Long Distant-Water Fishing Co., which was sanctioned by the U.S. government in 2022 as a related entity to Pingtan Marine Enterprise for alleged connections to illegal fishing and labor abuses.
The bank also signed an agreement with Zhengguan Fisheries, which recently launched a new krill trawler.
China’s distant-water fishing companies have been suffering from “high cost pressures and operating difficulties,” according to the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.
Traditionally, the fleet has largely relied on international buyers for the majority of its catch. However, the sector has faced intensifying scrutiny abroad and the possibility of a World Trade Organization deal that aims to limit the types of subsidies that China frequently pays out to its fleet.
In addition to provincial aid like Haixia is lending, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs has also recommended a wide-ranging support package nationally to bolster the ailing sector.
