China Shipping Group (CSG) is dismissing a political interpretation of the announcement that it is taking an equity stake in a large customer.

A central CSG executive, who spoke on condition of not being named, characterises CSG’s shares swap with Wuhan Iron and Steel Group Corp of holdings subsidiaries as a continuation of CSG’s established industrial-shipping strategy. The policy has long featured equity sharing with oil majors and power companies in a number of shipping joint ventures, he says..

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