Following the recent financial problems in the Far East, such as Hanjin, another massive loss has been reported. This time it is China’s COSCO Shipping Holdings, which has admitted it expected to post a loss of $1.44 billion for 2016, blaming the weak condition of the freight market, and low returns from disposing of assets. COSCO, which is state-owned, claims that freight rates had started to recover in the fourth quarter of 2016.

In 2015 COSCO had made a healthy profit, but declining freight rates had reversed this. As part of its efforts to control the losses, it sold off its dry bulk business and other divisions while restructuring. This was part of a merging of China Ocean Shipping Group and China Shipping Group. On the Hong Kong Exchange COSCO’s shares dropped 0.34% on the news of the loss.