By Joanne Chiu 
 

A unit of China Cosco Holdings Co. (1919.HK) has agreed to buy four very large ore carriers from Brazilian mining giant Vale SA (VALE), in a bid to facilitate shipments of the steel making raw material to the world's second-largest economy.

The Hong Kong and Shanghai-listed flagship of China Ocean Shipping (Group) Co. said Wednesday that China Ore Shipping Pte., 51%-owned joint venture with China Shipping Development Co., plans to buy four second-hand valemax vessels from Vale Shipping Singapore Pte., a unit of the world's major iron-ore producer, for 445 million U.S. dollars.

China Shipping Development Co. (1138.HK) holds a 49% stake in China Ore Shipping.

China Cosco said it plans to fund the purchase of the four vessels, which are due for delivery in June, from internal resources and bank borrowing.

Write to Joanne Chiu at joanne.chiu@wsj.com

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