Vale is reportedly planning to sell its last owned Valemaxes, its very large ore carriers (VLOCs). The sale-and-leaseback transactions would “improve the balance sheet while guaranteeing long-term low cost freight agreements”, according to presentation slides for an analyst meeting in London today. The sales are expected to generate $1.1bn. Finance chief Luciano Siani said the company expects the sales prices for the ships to be around the $110m earned on each prior Valemax sold. “The price should be about in the same range going forward,” he said in a webcast press conference. “The major driver for us is to get competitive freight rates on the leaseback agreements.”
