Operator to concentrate on logistics and management in year of consolidation
China Merchants Holdings (International), one of the mainland's largest port operators, will spend the year digesting its recent investments rather than continuing to expand its network of port facilities, senior company officials have said.
Chairman Fu Yuning said yesterday the central government was expected to soon approve its 5.57 billion yuan purchase of a 30 per cent stake in Shanghai International Port Group - operator of the world's third-largest port.
'I expect that government approval for our investment will be announced by the end of March or early April,' Mr Fu said. 'We should get at least 75 per cent of profit contributions from our investment in the Shanghai port this year.'
Mr Fu said that as the company had completed its strategic layout of ports in Hong Kong and on the mainland, it would focus on strengthening management control and logistics services.
The purchase will give China Merchants, which operates ports mainly in Shenzhen and Hong Kong, a foothold in the Yangtze River Delta through Shanghai's Waigaoqiao and Yangshan ports.
Mr Fu spoke after the group's managing director, Li Yi, unveiled a 40 per cent jump in consolidated net profit to $2.06 billion for the 12 months to December last year.
