Shipper taps partner

News was prepared under the information support of Online Daily Newspaper on Hellenic and international Shipping "Hellenic Shipping News".

2 Sep 2010

Chu Kong Shipping Development (0560) says it may cooperate with China Merchants Holdings (International) (0144) in both finance and real estate. The shipping agency is particularly interested in the state-owned port operator's property business, Chu Kong chairman Hua Honglin said.
His company is also willing to cooperate with China Merchants in large ports operation as well as investments in inland terminal depots, Hua said.
China Merchants said at the end of July that it will take over a 20 percent stake in Chu Kong Shipping's river trade port and barge business network as the first phase of a long-term partnership.
Meanwhile, Chu Kong Shipping expects revenue in the second half to grow at the same speed as in the first.
Financial controller Lu Xin said business volume in the cargo sector increased steadily during July and August, while the passenger transportation average rose more than 20 percent in the two months.
"Revenue contributed by our passenger transportation business accounted for 10 percent of the company's turnover in the first half," said Lu.
That proportion may rise marginally by the end of the year, he added.
Of the HK$680 million in capital expenditure allocated for 2010, HK$584 million was spent in the the first half on acquisitions, Lu said.
The rest will mainly be used for ports renovation in the second half.

Source: The Standard