’s Caravel Group has emerged as the biggest shareholder in Pacific Basin Shipping Ltd, signalling a major bet on growing global demand for dry bulk commodity transport.As of June 12, Caravel held 672.7 million shares in Pacific Basin, giving it a stake of just over 13%, Bloomberg reported, citing regulatory filings to the Hong Kong stock exchange. This follows Caravel’s initial disclosure of a 7.5% holding in late March, after which it steadily increased its ownership in the company, which is currently valued at around $1.3 billion.

Caravel Group said in an emailed statement to Bloomberg News, “Caravel Group is a committed long-term shareholder, and the position reflects the company’s confidence in Pacific Basin’s future.”

Harry Banga is chairman and chief executive officer of Caravel Group, which he launched in 2013 after working for more than two decades at one of Asia’s largest commodity trading firms. The company’s business spans ship management, commodity trading and asset management. According to its website, Caravel currently operates, manages or owns more than 650 vessels.

Pacific Basin, which owns and operates dry bulk cargo ships, reported adjusted revenue of about $2.6 billion last year. It is the sixth-largest marine shipping company listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange in terms of market value, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The Banga family also holds stakes in Indian ventures, including FSN E-Commerce Ventures Ltd., the parent company of beauty platform Nykaa. Nykaa was listed in Mumbai in 2021 following an initial public offering that raised $715 million. The Banga family ranks among the top three shareholders in the company.Harry Banga’s son, Angad Banga, is the chief operating officer of Caravel Group. He is also a general partner at Sorin Investments, an early-stage venture capital firm he co-founded with Sanjay Nayar, the former Chief Executive Officer of KKR India.(with inputs from Bloomberg)