Banker Kenneth Lam is ready to give approval to ship-leasing deals after working on his new venture for 18 months.

The former Asia head of lender Credit Agricole has co-founded Hong Kong-based finance company SeaKapital this month with Sabrina Chao, chairman of domestic shipowner Wah Kwong.

“I have worked with Sabrina professionally for about 20 years and before that Sabrina is a family friend whom I’ve known since we were young,” he told TradeWinds.