ICBC Financial Leasing Co, China's biggest leasing company by assets, said Thursday it has signed an $869 million agreement with BP Shipping to lease 18 oil vessels, the first business deal between the two companies. [Special coverage]
The 10-year lease agreement is the largest single financing order in BP Shipping's history, ICBC said in an e-mailed statement.
The announcement was made amid a rash of deals signed during a visit by President Xi Jinping to the UK this week.
The deals included China General Nuclear Corp taking a one-third stake in a planned 18 billion pound ($28 billion) nuclear plant.
ICBC Leasing, a wholly owned subsidiary of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, has been expanding its shipping and aviation portfolio.
It completed a $1.44 billion deal in 2014 with French oil services company Bourbon for the purchase and charter back of 46 ships used to support offshore oil and gas development.
ICBC is also lending Belgian shipowner Exmar $200 million in a deal agreed in June 2015 to finance a liquefied natural gas barge being built in China that will be the first in the world to liquefy and store LNG.
