China's biggest transport company, China Ocean Shipping (Group) (Cosco), yesterday moved to strengthen the executive board of its Hong Kong-listed vehicle by appointing seven new directors from the parent company.
The move is being seen as strong support for Cosco Pacific on the eve of Monday's interim announcement as most of the new directors are members of the parent's board and seen as heavy hitters in the mainland logistics industry.
Cosco Pacific is expected to announce a logistics acquisition before the results announcement on Monday, and market speculation is that the parent will inject its subsidiary, Cosco Logistics, into the listed vehicle.
Cosco Logistics in July won a contract to support the South China Sea Logistics Project, a joint venture between Shell and China National Offshore Oil Co, carving an inroad into the lucrative petrochemicals sector.
The appointments may also be a warning to its competitors the parent is not ready to surrender its position as the top mainland trade transport company listed in Hong Kong, according to an analyst who covers the stock.
'China Merchants has been aggressively talking up their stock, and has been tipped as one of the next additions to the [Hang Seng Index, in November],' the analyst said.
