Cosco Shipping Holdings to boost shareholding in Qingdao Port

PostTime:2017-01-25 10:19:50 View:713

TO pave the way for Cosco Shipping Ports to increase its shareholding in Qingdao Port International (QPI) the partners have entered into a Transaction Agreement. Taking the proposed New H Share Issuance plan of QPI into consideration, the subscription shares will represent 16.82 per cent of the issued share capital of QPI, and Cosco Shipping Ports' shareholding in QPI will rise to 18.41 per cent in total, New York's Marine Link.  Shanghai China Shipping Terminal Development Co Ltd (SCSTD), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cosco Shipping Ports, will subscribe for 1,015,520,000 non-circulating domestic shares in QPI at a total consideration of CNY5.8 billion (US$846.74 million) - equivalent to CNY 5.71 per share) - of which CNY3.2 billion will be settled by the transfer of a 20 per cent equity interest in Qingdao Qianwan Container Terminal Co Ltd (QQCT) to QPI and the remaining CNY2.6 billion will be settled in cash.  Cosco Shipping Ports and QPI will also enter into the strategic cooperation agreement on the same date. The parties expressed the intent of the following strategic co-operation in the future: Further deepening co-operation towards developing the Port of Qingdao into an international shipping hub in northeast Asia; co-investing in overseas terminal projects (including the Khalifa Port Container Terminal II project in Abu Dhabi); and setting up terminal project management companies) to co-operate in the businesses of management and operation of PRC and overseas terminal projects of Cosco Shipping Ports agreed by the parties.  For Cosco Shipping Ports, the increased investment in, and the subsequent strategic co-operation with QPI will strengthen the company's leading position in the greater China region, which is in line with the company's strategy of enhancing control over terminal assets. 

Cosco Shipping Ports, Qingdao Port International ink strategic agreement

PostTime:2017-01-23 11:49:20 View:553

Cosco Shipping Ports has announced a plan to acquire shares in Qingdao Port International Co by way of both equity interest transfer and cash. The transaction will be done via Cosco Shipping Ports’ subsidiary Shanghai China Shipping Terminal Development Co (SCSTD). SCSTD will subscribe to approximately 1m non-circulating domestic shares in Qingdao Port International at a total consideration of RMB5.8bn ($846.7m), of which RMB3.2bn will be settled by the transfer of a 20% equity in Qingdao Qianwan Container Terminal (QQCT) to Qingdao Port International and the remaining amount will be settled in cash. QQCT is currently owned as to 49%, 31% and 20% by PTS Holdings, Qingdao Port International and SCSTD, respectively. Upon completion of the transaction, Cosco Shipping Ports will increase its shareholding in Qingdao Port International from about 2.01% to about 18.41%. “Upon completion of the acquisition and the disposal, the company will have an increased direct stake in Qingdao Port International rather than investing only in a company which operates a single container terminal in the port of Qingdao,” Cosco Shipping Port stated. Meanwhile, Cosco Shipping Port also entered into a strategic cooperation agreement with Qingdao Port International to co-invest in overseas terminal projects and to set up terminal project management companies. “The increased investment in, and the subsequent strategic cooperation with, a major port in China will also strengthen the company’s leading position in the Greater China region, which is in line with the company’s strategy of enhancing control over terminal assets,” Cosco Shipping Port said.

APMT expands at Vado near Genoa with Cosco and Qingdao port companies

PostTime:2016-10-21 08:30:55 View:663

COSCO Shipping Ports and Qingdao Port International Development have become partners with APM Terminals (APMT) to operate the existing Vado Reefer Terminal, and the new deep water container terminal under construction in Vado near Genoa, opening in 2018. APMT has concluded an agreement with China Cosco Shipping Ports subject to customary conditions for the sale of a minority share in a new joint venture created for the APM Terminals Global Terminal Network's operations in Vado, reports Rotterdam's World Maritime News.  A similar agreement was also concluded with Qingdao Port International Development (Hong Kong) Co Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Qingdao Port International Co Ltd, which will become an indirect minority shareholder in the joint venture.  The agreements include interests in both the existing Reefer Terminal in Vado, the largest refrigerated cargo facility on the Mediterranean Sea, and the new 800,000 TEU capacity deep-water terminal currently under construction at the Port of Vado. APMT will have a 50.1 per cent share and will operate both the Reefer Terminal and the APM Terminals Vado container terminal; Cosco Shipping Ports will have a 40 per cent share and Qingdao Port International Development (Hong Kong) Co Limited a 9.9 per cent share. The signing ceremony with Cosco Shipping Ports was held in Shanghai, and attended by current APM Terminals CEO Kim Fejfer, as well as Morten Engelstoft, who will succeed Mr Fejfer as CEO on November 1. "Through global partnerships and shared goals of operational excellence, there is much we can achieve together, even in the current difficult business environment" said Mr Fejfer, adding "and we are pleased to build upon our close relationships with Cosco Shipping Ports, and the Qingdao Port Group." Cosco Shipping Ports is a subsidiary of Cosco Shipping Group, which assumed control over the Greek Port of Piraeus earlier this year.  With the support of its affiliated shipping line, Cosco Container Lines, the world's number one in total tonnage and number four in container capacity, Cosco Shipping Ports has been expanding its operations in the Mediterranean Region as part of the "One Belt One Road" initiative to strengthen logistics links between China and Europe.  Cosco is already a shareholder in several operations within the APM Terminals Global Terminal Network, such as the Suez Canal Container Terminal, APM Terminals Zeebrugge and Qingdao Qianwan Container Terminal (QQCT). APM Terminals and the Qingdao Port Group have shared investments in QQCT and four other container terminals in Qingdao, and most recently, Qingdao Port Dongjiakou Multi-Purpose Terminal.  Qingdao Port is the fifth-largest container port on the Chinese mainland, and the eighth largest worldwide, with 17.4 million TEU handled in 2015. The Port of Vado is located in north-western Italy in the region of Savona on the Ligurian Coast, near Genoa, Italy's busiest container port, with a throughput of 2.24 million TEU in 2015.  The expansion of Vado's facilities is part of the port's master plan to create new and improved supply chain capabilities for markets in Northern Italy, Switzerland and Southern Germany. APM Terminals Vado will be a new semi-automated container terminal scheduled to become operational in 2018, with the unique ability to accommodate ultra-large container ships (ULCS) of up to 19,000 TEU capacity without any physical restrictions among North Italian ports. 

APM Terminals diversifies with Qingdao multipurpose terminal jv

PostTime:2015-11-05 08:22:22 View:548

APM Terminals has secured a 20% stake in the newly developed multipurpose terminal in Qingdao’s Dongjiakou Port, located on China’s Bohai Rim in the Shandong province. Dongjiakou Port area is expected to become a national hub of Chinese grain and energy bulk cargoes, with a projected annual throughput of more than 300m tonnes. Qingdao port handled around 7m tonnes of grain in 2014, with continued strong growth again in 2015. “China… is a crucial center of global trade and logistics, and we are very pleased to advance our multi-port strategy of growth beyond containers in this exciting and fast-growing market,” said APMT ceo Kim Fejfer. “We are fully prepared to grow with the grain market in China, and around the world.” Francois Delenclos, APMT vp of business development, added: “Worldwide seaborne  grain shipments have increased  to over 400m tons annually according to the World Grain Council, requiring a specialized infrastructure and expertise to keep up with this demand, while helping to improve the quality of life for millions of people around the world. This is a high-growth market where APM Terminals can invest and deploy its operational expertise in key locations.”  

Qingdao Port working with AP Moller-Maersk on tug, bulk business, Italy port project

PostTime:2015-11-05 08:18:38 View:492

Qingdao Port has entered into various cooperation agreements with the giant AP-Moller Maersk Group. The first is a joint venture (jv) with the Asian unit of Maersk tug arm Svitzer to operate and manage a port tug business. Qingdao Port will own 55% of the JV, while Svitzer Asia will take up the remaining 45%. In addition, Qingdao Port and Maersk's terminals arm APM Terminals will look into setting up a JV company to operate and manage the Vado Ligure Port terminal project in Italy with other strategic partners. And in exchange APM Terminals, through its bulk handling unit APM Terminals Bulk Qingdao, will get a 20% stake in Qingdao Port's multi-purpose berth project in Dongjiakou, which is set to become one of the biggest bulk port terminals in China.The agreements would expand the strategic cooperation between Qingdao Port and Maersk Group in China from the container terminals in Qianwan to bulk cargo terminals in Dongjiakou as well as the port tug business in the Port of Qingdao, the company said in a stock market announcement. Meanwhile cooperation on the Vado Ligure Port terminal project will boost "the implementation of the internationalization strategy of the company, improving the operation and management level of container terminals, bulk cargo terminals and port tug business of the company to international advanced standards, so as to achieve satisfactory economic and social benefits as well as powerful combination and win-win progress," it added.

APM Terminals in Qingdao multipurpose terminal jv

PostTime:2015-11-04 08:24:19 View:482

APM Terminals has secured a 20% stake in the newly developed multipurpose terminal in Qingdao’s Dongjiakou Port, located on China’s Bohai Rim in the Shandong province. Dongjiakou Port area is expected to become a national hub of Chinese grain and energy bulk cargoes, with a projected annual throughput of more than 300m tonnes. Qingdao port handled around 7m tonnes of grain in 2014, with continued strong growth again in 2015. “China… is a crucial center of global trade and logistics, and we are very pleased to advance our multi-port strategy of growth beyond containers in this exciting and fast-growing market,” said APMT ceo Kim Fejfer. “We are fully prepared to grow with the grain market in China, and around the world.” Francois Delenclos, APMT vp of business development, added: “Worldwide seaborne  grain shipments have increased  to over 400m tons annually according to the World Grain Council, requiring a specialized infrastructure and expertise to keep up with this demand, while helping to improve the quality of life for millions of people around the world. This is a high-growth market where APM Terminals can invest and deploy its operational expertise in key locations.”  

Qingdao Port and Svitzer ink partnership agreement

PostTime:2015-07-01 08:35:35 View:576

China’s Qingdao Port International and towage and emergency response firm Svitzer have inked a cooperation agreement. Qingdao Port and the AP Moller-Maersk towage unit will set up a joint venture to cooperate in the towage business. The joint venture firm will be able to tap on the resources of both parties and carry out towage operations and management. Qingdao Port said the partnership will aim to attain international standards of services, bringing the operations out of China and into the global market. Zheng Minghui, director of Qingdao Port, pointed out that the Chinese port is currently in the midst of expanding its facilities, including the upgrading of the container berths and raising overall efficiency. He added that the partnership with Svitzer will further contribute to a sustainable growth of the port business. Last month, Svitzer had ventured into the Malaysian market with the establishment of a new joint venture with Malaysia’s SVR Marine Services.

SITC, Qingdao port operator in cooperation deal

PostTime:2015-05-27 08:17:22 View:722

Intra-Asia line SITC announced that has entered into a five-year strategic cooperation agreement with port operator Qingdao Port International for preferential treatment in Qingdao Port, as well investments and future projects in Southeast Asia and mainland China. SITC said in a stock market announcement that the the agreement involved Qingdao Port International supporting SITC's "high-frequency, high density” sea freight logistics services in exchange for SITC directing more traffic to it. The two parties also agreed to jointly participate in terminal, logistics and infrastructure investments and operations in Southeast Asia and mainland China as well as committing to cooperate with each other to actively look for suitable business cooperation projects in both overseas and domestic logistics markets, including ports and inland container depot and warehouse, shipping agency and extension services, port related ancillary services. "The cooperation between the Company and Qingdao Port  International under the Strategic Cooperation Agreement was entered into by the parties with an aim to further strengthen the strategic cooperation between the parties in the port and logistics market, and to further expand areas of cooperation between the two parties so as to deepen the benefits of cooperation in order to generate greater returns to the shareholders of each of the Company and Qingdao Port International, respectively," said SITC.

Vale terminal inks iron ore deal with Qingdao port

PostTime:2014-12-12 09:07:40 View:569

Vale’s port terminal Ponta da Madeira has signed a cooperation agreement with China’s Qingdao port for an increase in the handling of iron ore between the terminals. Brazil’s Vale announced on Wednesday that the agreement “paves the way for a growth of iron ore trade between Brazilian port terminal and Chinese port.” The mining giant added that the cooperation will also intensify the exchange of information, best practices and studies of common interest, as well as mutual benefits in relation to trade and promotion of maritime routes between the two countries. Ponta da Madeira terminal in northeastern Brazil is a main port to ship production from Vale’s Carajas mines, which is expected to produce around 120m tonnes of products this year. The Brazilian terminal has shipped around 105m tonnes of iron ore in 2013 out of a total of 112m tonnes in products shipped. The port of Qingdao, located on the east coast of northern China, receives more than 100m tonnes of iron ore a year, according to Vale. Vale is building the world’s largest ore carriers, dubbed valemaxes at 400,000 dwt in capacity, to serve the Brazil-China iron ore trades. The ultra-large bulkers, however, were denied entry into Chinese ports on safety grounds, with the China Shipowners Association leading the objection and criticising Vale for trying to monopolise the iron ore trade. The latest cooperation agreement with Qingdao port could possibly pave the way for Vale to operate their valemaxes in Chinese ports eventually. Vale has recently inked deals with Chinese shipowners Cosco and China Merchants to sell the VLOCs to them and charter the ships back on long term contracts.

Diana Shipping buys resale capesize at $50m from Qingdao Beihai

PostTime:2014-12-11 08:21:41 View:1553

Greece’s Diana Shipping has acquired a capesize newbuilding bulker currently under construction from Qingdao Beihai Shipbuilding Heavy Industry at a resale price of $50m. The 180,000-dwt newbuilding is expected to be delivered to Diana Shipping by mid-January 2015. In June this year, Diana Shipping had also bought a resale capesize bulker at a price of $58m from the same Chinese shipyard. At present, Diana Shipping has a combined carrying fleet capacity of approximately 4.4m dwt with a weighted average age of 6.99 years. The shipowner is waiting for the deliveries of four newbuildings including two newcastlemaxes, one kamsarmax and the latest capesize order.

DP World and Qingdao strengthen cooperation

PostTime:2014-11-24 07:52:54 View:442

DP World and Qingdao Port Group have signed a cooperation deal on information sharing aimed at stimulating business growth. Under the strategic framework agreement, the port of Qingdao in China and Dubai's Jebel Ali and Mina Rashid ports will increase dialogue and study liner services between their terminals. The agreement builds on an existing relationship between the two terminal operators. The companies intend to establish a new "cohesive and systematic" approach to information sharing on terminal operations, including port planning and development, management, productivity improvement, green port initiatives and staff training. DP World chairman, Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, and Qingdao Port Group chairman, Zheng Minghua, signed the agreement during Zheng’s recent visit to Jebel Ali. “Qingdao is an important and busy part of our network in our Asia Pacific region and we have a strong partnership with Qingdao Port Group which is beneficial to all," commented Sulayem. "Like DP World, Qingdao Port Group is extremely customer focused and we look forward to working even more closely with them in the future to offer enhanced services. We look forward to working with HE Zheng and Qingdao Port Group to further strengthen the relationship between our two trading nations and our two companies.”

Qingdao container terminal to raise in US$145 million bond sale

PostTime:2014-07-24 09:11:40 View:538

QINGDAO Qianwan United Container Terminal (QQUCT) is to issue US$145 million bonds for debt repayments on July 25 in mainland China's inter-bank market since its largest shareholder, Qingdao Port International, went public in Hong Kong in June.  The terminal in Qingdao, on the Yellow Sea Coast of North China, will launch its bonds sale as the first tranche of its CNY1 billion (US$161 million) bond programme which was approved by shareholders in September 2013.  According to a report from London's Lloyd's List, it increased profit to CNY600.6 million drawn on revenue of CNY1.4 billion during the first six months of the year. The terminal's cash reserves stood at CNY356.1 million at end of June.  The terminal is 31 per cent owned by QPI, 29 per cent by DP World, 20 per cent by APM Terminals and 20 per cent by Cosco Pacific. It has a design capacity of 6.5 million TEU from its 11 berths.  The interest rate of the shares will be finalised at bookbinding process by the main underwriter, Bank of Communications.