Singapore's PSA wins tender to buy stake in major Jiangsu port
The Singaporean company wins bid to buy stake in major Jiangsu container port
Singapore's PSA International yesterday added another mainland container port to its portfolio after winning a tender floated by China Shipping Container Lines for its stake in a major port in Jiangsu.
It would hardly cover the net loss of 1.67 billion yuan it incurred for the first nine months of the year.
Shipping companies, including the mainland's largest carrier China Cosco, have been dumping assets this year in the wake of heavy losses as a result of a downturn in the shipping industry. But CSCL is not as desperate for cash as China Cosco, which faces delisting from the Shanghai Stock Exchange this year if it fails to return to the black.
In its latest filing, CSCL said it would sell its 55 per cent stake in Lianyungang port for 756 million yuan. The Lianyungang city government will acquire 6 per cent while PSA the remaining 49 per cent because the government is required to keep a controlling stake in port assets.
The latest acquisition is the latest in the Singaporean operator's efforts to expand in China. It already has 37 berths in seven terminals across five cities. Recently, it invested in the country's gateway port of Fujian Jiangyin International Container Terminal, which is next door to a feeder port in Fuzhou, where it also has a stake.
