Chinese fishing firm Kaichuang booked CNY 85.3 million (USD 12.3 million, EUR 10.8 million) in subsidies for its distant-water fishing activities for the 2017 calendar year.
The “payment will have a positive effect” on 2018 earnings, according to the firm’s circular to investors.
The payment was made to Shanghai Kaichuang Deepsea Fisheries Co., a unit of Shanghai Kaichuang Marine International Co., which is listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange. Kaichuang reported an 11 percent rise in revenues, reaching CNY 1.42 billion (USD 205.2 million, EUR 172.2 million) for the first three quarters of 2018 – but profits rose a whopping 347 percent to CNY 122.5 million (USD 17.7 million, EUR 15.5 million), reversing the company’s losses in 2017.
A state-owned entity, Kaichuang catches and markets mackerel, tuna, squid, and krill via its large fleet operating in international waters. Kaichuang, like many other Chinese long-distance fishing firms, is reliant on fuel subsidies from the federal government to ensure its profitability, which in turn enables it and other companies who receive the annual subsidies to acquire bank loans and overseas assets.
