CMHI looking for overseas M&As to boost container throughput
Li Xiaopeng, chairman of Hong Kong-listed China Merchants Holdings International (CMHI), said Friday the company plans to expand container throughput by overseas mergers and acquisitions amid the slow economic recovery and sluggish global trade.
“We haven’t owned projects in Central and South America so far,” said vice president Hu Jianhua, “Currently, I think it is an appropriate time to consider buying local projects because port assets have devalued following weak local currencies.”
CMHI’s business will follow “One belt, One road” opportunities, Hu said, adding that its big interest in further developing the port business in Sri Lanka was no secret. “We wish to have more progress on ports buildings and operations in Sri Lanka.”
Sri Lanka’s Colombo International Container Terminals (CICT), majority owned by CMHI, saw its container throughput grow by 127.5 per cent year on year, reaching 1.56 million TEUs in 2015. The first five months of 2016 have seen CICT’s container throughput increase by 30 per cent over the same period last year.
The decline of China’s import and exports will have some negative impact on our business growth
However, the company’s overseas business experienced uneven growth, with Tin-Can Island Container Terminal Limited (TICT) in Nigeria seeing a drop in container throughput during the first five months.