A company committed to digitizing the Chinese fishing fleet has won an industry award for its B2B internet services.
Ningbo Hai Shang Xian Information Technology Ltd. Co., which developed the “Hai Shang Xian” (literally “On the Sea Fresh”), allowing trawlers sell their catches while still at sea, was chosen as one of the Top 100 Chinese Industrial Internet Companies in 2020 at the annual China B2B Internet Summit in Shanghai recently.
Based in Ningbo, an east coast port city that’s also home to a large fishing fleet, Hai Shang Xian also offers satellite communication and “intelligence-managed” refueling-at-sea services as well as digitized supply chain management for fishing companies. The firm has been touting its use of the Chinese Bei Dou satellite navigation system – the country’s state-driven effort to create an alternative to America’s global positioning system (GPS), upon which China has relied for decades.
The company’s backers include Zhuo Er Group, a leading Chinese logistics and real estate firm, which has taken a 22 percent stake in Hai Shang Xian. The Zhuo Er Group –also known as the Zall Group and listed on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong – took the stake in 2018.
Hai Shang Xian appears set to benefit from broader trends in the fishing industry as China's government subsidizes the modernization of its fleet. Rising wages and labor shortages are also forcing efficiencies, another factor favoring Hai Shang Xian’s technological solutions. The company, which also provides a wi-fi service to trawlers, will be a good fit for Zhou Er, according to CEO Qi Zhi Ping. In a public statement issued after his firm’s buy-in, Qi said his company’s experience in developing logistics and supply chain financing services for e-commerce would mesh well with Hai Shang Xian’s offerings.
In its own public statements, Hai Shang Xian has made much of its championing of government goals and strategy. The “Strong Ocean Country” goal promulgated by the Chinese Communist Party, which will require increased efficiency and digitization of the country’s fishing industry, is likely to gybe with the company’s business interests, according to a Hai Shang Xian sales document.
Photo courtesy of Hai Shang Xian
