Offshore Trust Insight | SEACON (02409.HK) Down 0.09% Intraday; Proposed USD 134 Million Disposal of 10 Bulk Carriers, Founder Holds 49.5% via J&Y Trust

On October 30, 2026, the shipping and dry bulk theme traded divergently, and SEACON (02409.HK) edged lower. As of 14:07, the stock was quoted at HKD 5.305, down 0.09%, with a turnover of about HKD 2.4023 million and a market capitalisation of about HKD 2.653 billion based on the latest price. It touched a low of HKD 5.080 and a high of HKD 5.410 during the day, with an amplitude of 6.21%.

On the news front, on October 1, 2026, the company announced that it and its indirect wholly-owned subsidiary Seacon Shipping had entered into an agreement with the buyer Cetus Maritime Holdings Limited to dispose of 100% of the equity interest in the Seacon subsidiaries holding interests in the first group of vessels (10 bulk carriers), and to procure the relevant subsidiaries to enter into period charter arrangements with the buyer in respect of a further three bulk carriers, covering 13 bulk carriers in total, for a total consideration of about USD 134 million. Of the consideration, 30% (about USD 40.0835 million) is payable in cash and 70% (about USD 93.5282 million) by the issue of 37.3413 million new shares by the buyer, representing about 22.24% of the buyer's issued share capital as enlarged. The announcement stated that the buyer is an exempted company incorporated in the Cayman Islands, 77.56% owned by Pacific Transportation Asia LLC, which is in turn 95.8% owned by Bell Atlantic Master Trust, a qualified employee pension trust of Verizon Communications, and is independent of the company and its connected persons. The company expects to record a gain of about USD 70 million after tax and expenses, to be recognised in stages from 2026 to 2028; upon completion, the Seacon subsidiaries will cease to be subsidiaries of the company, the company will hold about 22.24% of Cetus and will be entitled to nominate one person as its non-executive director, with the net proceeds to be used for potential vessel acquisitions and general working capital.

It is understood that SEACON listed on the Main Board of HKEX on March 29, 2023 at an offer price of HKD 3.27 (the bottom of the HKD 3.27 to HKD 3.91 range), offering 125 million shares globally (12.5 million shares, or 10%, for the Hong Kong public offering and 112.5 million shares, or 90%, for the international offering, with a 15% over-allotment option), raising gross proceeds of about HKD 409 million and net proceeds of about HKD 348 million, with a board lot size of 1,000 shares; three cornerstone investors — Huzhou Wuxing, Fujian Guohang Ocean Shipping through Guodian Shipping, and Yiqiao Capital through Danube Bridge Shipping — subscribed for a total of 35.497 million shares. The company is an integrated shipping service provider headquartered in Qingdao, operating through two segments, shipping services and integrated marine services, and was the largest third-party ship management service provider headquartered in China by the number of third-party owned vessels managed in 2021 (Frost & Sullivan). The stock opened at HKD 3.051 on its debut and closed at HKD 2.400, down 26.6% from the offer price; as at October 30, 2026, the company had 500 million issued shares, and the current price of HKD 5.305 is up 62.2% cumulatively from the offer price, with a 52-week high of HKD 7.365 (October 7) and a 52-week low of HKD 3.500, and a year-to-date gain of 26.91%.

In terms of shareholding structure, Guo Jinkui holds 247,500,000 shares, or 49.5%, through Jin Qiu Holding Ltd., 11,250,000 shares, or 2.25%, through Jin Chun Holding Ltd., and 30,000,000 shares, or 6.0%, through Jovial Alliance Limited, totalling 288,750,000 shares, or 57.75%; Chen Zekai holds 14.25% through Kaimei Holding Ltd. and 0.75% through CZK Holding, totalling 75,000,000 shares, or 15.0%; Zhao Yong holds 7,500,000 shares, or 1.5%; He Gang holds 3,750,000 shares, or 0.75%. According to the HKEx disclosure of interests platform, Chen Zekai and Zhao Yong declared holdings of 75,000,000 shares (15.00%) and 7,500,000 shares (1.50%) respectively on June 26, 2026.

Public listing documents and announcements show that the company's shareholding structure involves offshore trusts. Guo Jinkui holds Jin Qiu Holding Ltd. indirectly through the J&Y Trust: the J&Y Trust is a discretionary trust established by Guo Jinkui as settlor and protector for the benefit of himself and his family members; the entire share capital of Jin Qiu Holding Ltd. is held by Shining Friends Limited, which is wholly owned by the trustee of the J&Y Trust, being Futu Trustee Limited. According to the HKEx disclosure of interests platform, Futu Trustee Limited declared an acquisition of the relevant interest on April 2, 2025, and on the same day Tricor Equity Trustee Limited declared that its holding had fallen to zero, reflecting a change of trustee from Tricor Equity Trustee Limited to Futu Trustee Limited. The establishment date of the trust has not been disclosed.

Regarding offshore trusts, on July 24, 2026, the Ministry of Finance and the State Taxation Administration jointly issued the Announcement on Matters Concerning Individual Income Tax on Offshore Trusts (Announcement No. 21 of 2026), bringing the entire life cycle of an offshore trust — establishment, existence and termination — into the individual income tax administration system, establishing three look-through points of establishment, existence and termination with a uniform 20% tax rate. The announcement specifies that during the existence of an offshore trust, income generated by an individual resident's offshore trust and by overseas entities held or controlled by that trust, whether actually distributed or not, is taxable to that individual resident, who must file and pay individual income tax on an annual basis. Article 6 of the announcement specifies that where, during the existence of an offshore trust of an individual resident, the individual resident becomes a non-resident individual, the taxable income is the balance after deducting the original value from the market value of the offshore trust's property on the day the individual becomes a non-resident, and individual income tax must be filed and paid. The 90-day supplementary filing window set by the announcement runs from July 24, 2026.

On the operating side, the company's revenue in the first half of 2026 was USD 207.4 million, up 50.9% year on year; gross profit was USD 44.5 million, up 61.6%, with the gross margin rising from 20.0% to 21.5%; net profit for the period was USD 29.5 million, up 27.9%; profit attributable to shareholders of the company was USD 28.35 million, up 44.7%; EBITDA was USD 70.0 million, up 54.9%; basic earnings per share were USD 0.057. By segment, shipping services revenue was USD 127.45 million, up 58.3%, and integrated marine services revenue was USD 79.903 million, up 40.5%. During the period, the company disposed of two owned vessels and one joint venture vessel, recording a gain on disposal of assets of about USD 14.8 million and a share of profits of associates of about USD 2.3 million. As at June 30, 2026, the company's cash and cash equivalents were about USD 53.0 million (about USD 51.0 million at the end of 2025); it controlled 38 vessels and held interests in 15 vessels through joint ventures, totalling 53 vessels with aggregate capacity of 1.83 million dwt, up 23.6% year on year, and the average fleet age fell to 3.8 years; it had 15 newbuildings under construction owned or on bareboat charter and a further 13 held through joint ventures, totalling 28 vessels.

Eddid Securities Futures Limited noted in a research report that the company's core strategic framework is a "dual engine of asset-light and asset-heavy operations": when freight rates rise, shipping services release earnings elasticity, while in a weak market the ship management business provides a stable cash flow buffer through a renewal rate of over 94% and a lump-sum fee model; the ship management industry is seeing structural growth opportunities driven by the IMO's green regulations and the "Chinese ships managed by Chinese managers" policy; and the three engines of capacity expansion, fleet structure optimisation and a rising share of ship management business are clearly visible, placing the company at a point where the industry cycle upturn and its own growth release converge.