Shanghai Industrial Holdings Limited (SIHL) says it expects this month to become the single largest shareholder in one of the mainland's top freight forwarders.
The Hong Kong-listed investment arm of the Shanghai municipal government in late May paid HK$252 million for what will eventually be a 60 per cent stake in the Beijing-based EAS International Transportation, receiving 25 per cent at signing.
The handover of a second 25 per cent tranche is being negotiated with its mainland owner, Hua Tong Industrial Development, and is expected to be completed soon, according to SIHL sources in Hong Kong.
The move will likely come before its interim results at the end of the month, the sources said.
The company would not disclose how the purchase price would be divided, but said it was hopeful the final 10 per cent would be brought into the fold before the end of the year.
'Unit-wise, the payment will not be the same for the three stakes as they are held by different partners,' a SIHL spokesman said. 'But, with China recently having opened the door to majority foreign ownership in mainland logistics companies, we may be able to finalise acquisition of the full stake before 2003.'