Beijing: China-based COSCO Holdings has announced that it is to spend $4.6bn to acquire its parent (China Ocean Shipping)'s dry-bulk shipping fleet. The purchase, which will see the transfer of 432 vessels of a totoal 33.2m dwt, will propel COSCO into the limelight as a leading dry bulk shipping line. The move comes on the heels of the strongest ever surge in dry bulk prices, with the Baltic Dry Bulk Index well over 7,000 points for most of this year.
The deal brings to an end a ten year battle Capt Wei Jiafu, the ceo and president of the group, has fought to combine his disparate bulk and liner divisions. The merger should lay to rest the constant infighting between Cosco's four bulk arms based in Hong Kong, Tianjin, Qingdao and Shenzhen, each of which has tended to be more beholden to provincial powers than Beijing headquarters. [04/09/07]
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