Chairman of the Board of Directors of both Hebei Ocean Shipping Company Limited and North China Shipping Holdings Company Limited

Introduction:

Mr. Gao Yan Ming graduated from Dalian Maritime University in 1982. At present, Mr. Gao is the Chairman of the Board of Directors of both Hebei Ocean Shipping Company Limited (hereinafter HOSCO Group) and North China Shipping Holdings Company Limited (hereinafter NCSH), Vice President of China Shipowners Association, Vice Chairman of China Shipowners Mutual Assurance Association, Member of Hebei Provincial Committee of Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, Chairman of China Classification Society Asia as well as President of Hebei Sub-association of Hong Kong Chinese Enterprises Association. HOSCO Group is the biggest private shipping company and the fourth largest shipping company in mainland China. NCSH, on the other hand, has become one of the biggest bulk owners and operators in Hong Kong after strenuous development of 17 years.
Established in 1980, HOSCO Group is mainly engaged in seaborne transportation. However, tracing back to the end of 1997, she only owned 5 old vessels of about 6,400,000 dwt with the tangible asset value of less than RMB 100 million Yuan but with the net asset value of negative RMB 11 million Yuan. HOSCO Group was then on the verge of bankruptcy. The turning point emerged in 1998 when Mr. Gao was entrusted to be the General Manager of HOSCO Group at that difficult and critical moment (he being the Chairman after the group reorganization in 2001). By deepening the reform, strengthening the management and improving the operation, Mr. Gao led the group out of the trouble into the channel of rapid and sustainable development. In result, staff’s wage level has been raised by over ten times on average. Since then, HOSCO Group has grown from a modest shipowner into a conglomerated enterprise of over twenty subsidiaries with her business focusing on seaborne transportation and sidelining in international trading, shipping agent, freight forwarder, seafarer service export and etc. In recent years, HOSCO Group was honored by such awards as “Financially Creditable Enterprise”, “Class-A Enterprise in Tax Payment”,” Excellent Enterprise in Hebei Province”, “Star Enterprise in Hebei Province”, “ Advanced Unit in National Transportation System” and so on.
NCSH was established by Mr. Gao Yan Ming in 1992 with her headquarter in Hong Kong. NCSH has been taking advantage of Hong Kong’s pro-business environment and international position to explore the market. She is recognized by the shipping circle within only a few years and has been the successful model emulated by other companies in the dry bulk and crude oil shipping market.
Mr. Gao Yan Ming regards the development of ocean shipping industry as his responsibility entrusted by history for its close connection with the economy revitalization. Being concerned for the state construction, he has written to state leaders several times to propose his constructive idea and thoughts, all of which are proved to be correct later. He shows his support for the Chinese shipowners mutual assurance industry in a practical way by insuring all newly delivered vessels of over one million gross ton with China Shipowners Mutual Assurance Association so that its overall insured gross tonnage broke through ten-million-ton threshold in one stroke. To promote the Hong Kong Shipping industry, almost all of owned vessels are flying or changed to fly Hong Kong Flag, which bolsters Hong Kong’s Flag State position in the international shipping world. Our overall registered tonnage is among the forefronts in Hong Kong Shipping Registry, for which we won the “Award of Largest Fleet Registered by Single Enterprise in Hong Kong”
Confronting the current once-in-a-century financial crisis, Mr. Gao Yan Ming initiatively appealed to the industry players and the governors to enforce the measures of scrapping old vessels, laying up existing tonnage, delaying newbuilding delivery and canceling newbuilding order for the avoidance of oversupply. Besides, Mr. Gao also brings forward many pertinent suggestions and advices on how to ensure and consolidate Chinese economy development by writing to Ministry of Transport, National Development and Reform Commission as well as Premier Weng Jia Bao. Some of his suggestions are highly recognized and adopted thereafter.
What’s more, Mr. Gao is also devoted to and takes an active part in all social public welfare including education, aviation, navigation, sport, environment protection and earthquake relief work.
To support Chinese education cause, NCSH and HOSCO Group, led by Mr. Gao with his attention, proposal and personal action, has not only constructed twenty three “Hope Primary Schools” one after another in Hebei Province and other poverty-stricken areas, but also financially assisted over 1,600 poor middle and primary school students to complete their nine-year compulsory education;
Since 2005, NCSH and HOSCO Group have set up scholarships in Dalian Maritime University, Shanghai Maritime University, Jimei University, Wuhan University of Technology, Hong Kong Polytechnic University and Taiwan Ocean University to encourage the cultivation of shipping experts, which makes it the world first Chinese enterprise to provide scholarship in mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
After the 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake in Sichuan, under the lead of Mr. Gao Yan Ming, NCSH and HOSCO Group actively donated RMB5.5 million to the people in disaster area. Mr. Gao himself went to Sichuan to condole the earthquake-stricken people.
In 2008, Mr Gao contributed the famous 1945 Supermarine Spitfire Mk XVI Fighter Aircraft in World War II to the Aviation Museum of China to enrich the museum’s collections and promote the development of Chinese aviation industry. The Fighter has been displayed since May 1, 2009.
In September 24, NCSH donated HKD One Million to Hong Kong Maritime Museum. During the donation ceremony, Mr. Gao pointed out that shipping is the pillar industry of Hong Kong economy and has made great contributions in Hong Kong’s development. The progress of shipping industry has laid a solid foundation for Hong Kong to be the world shipping centre and the prosperous status quo. Shipping was, is and will still be significant to the development of Hong Kong economy.
During Beijing Olympics in 2008, Chinese athletes won great honor for our motherland with the top one place in gold metal chart for the first time in history. A Qinhuangdao-born athlete CAO Lei won the championship in Female 75-kilogram Weight Class Competition. As the hometown connection, Qinhuangdao-based HOSCO Group rewarded Ms CAO with RMB 500,000 Yuan for her better performance in the future.
Mr. Gao Yan Ming has been in the business in Hong Kong for many years and enjoys an excellent reputation in the international shipping circle with such extraordinary prestiges as:
“Model Worker in Hebei Provincial Transportation System” in February 2000;
“Model Worker in National Transportation System” in September 2001;
“Carving-out Entrepreneur in Hebei Province” in December 2004;
“Man of the Year 2004 in International Shipping Community” in January 2005;
“Outstanding Entrepreneur in China” in June 2005;
“Man of the Year 2005 of Touching Moment in Qinhuangdao City” in January 2006;
“Top Ten Leading Figures in Global Shipping Industry” in January 2006;
“Outstanding Entrepreneur in Hebei Province” in April 2006;
“Top Ten Worthies from Chinese Transportation Enterprises for the Year 2006” in January 2007;
“Top Ten Worthies from Chinese Private Logistics Enterprises for the Year 2006” in August 2007;
“Man of the Year 2007 in China Economy” in January 2008;
“Man of the Year 2007 in Hebei Provincial Economy” in February 2008;
“Special Contribution and Achievement Award for People in Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and Overseas for the Past Thirty Years since the Reform and Opening-up of Hebei Province” in November 2008;
“Notable Person in Sixty Years of Chinese Shipping Development” in November 2008;
“Top Ten People of Hebei Province for the Year 2008” in January 2009;
“Outstanding Entrepreneur in Hebei Provincial Logistics Industry” in January 2009.
In addition, Mr. Gao Yan Ming has made outstanding contributions to enterprise management, technology innovation and so on:
Through practice, he summarized “The Viewpoints on Successful Management of Enterprise” and fostered the enterprise culture with HOSCO Group characteristics, all of which is of referential significance to the reform of state-owned enterprises.
He proposed the idea of vessel conversion which sees the successful conversion of “Hebei Innovator” from single-hull VLCC to VLOC for the first time ever in the shipping history.
On the 2005 International Shipping China Forum held in March 2005, he delivered a speech titled of “Chinese Shipowners Should Learn to Exploit Overseas Capital Effectively”, which was later published in many world famous shipping and trading journal such as “Tradewinds”, “Marine Money”, “China Communications News”, “Financial Times”, “China Shipping Gazette Weekly” and so on.
He initiated with the idea of reconstructing the propeller of four Panamaxes built in Romania. After reconstruction, the oil consumption is successfully reduced while the navigation speed is efficiently increased from 12 knot to 13 knot.
Based on Common Structural Rules of four classification society, He brought forward the idea of enlarging the deadweight tonnage of existing Panamax design so as to improve the transportation capacity. The idea was adopted on four Panamaxes whose deadweight tonnage was increased from 76,000 ton to 78,000 ton, yielding great economic benefits.
With unswerving effort for the past ten-odd years, Mr. Gao Yan Ming established and manages a successful enterprise and in the meantime he is building up a position and brand for Chinese private economy in the global economy arena. Mr. Gao not only helps advance the development of Chinese marine transportation cause, but have also actively aired views and offered advices to major leaders of state authority to boost the healthy growth of China and steady progress of Society. Being a highly innovative entrepreneur, Mr. Gao Yan Ming has led the enterprise out of pit onto the path of strong development. Moreover, he spares not effort in representing and improving the connotation of high social responsibility as a private entrepreneur.