COSCO SHIPPING Ports acquires stakes in Laem Chabang Port terminals
COSCO SHIPPING Ports Limited has announced its acquisition of 12.5% and 30% of the equity stakes in Thai Laemchabang Terminal Co., Ltd (TLT) and Hutchison Laemchabang Terminal Limited (HLT), respectively, in Thailand. The project signing ceremony was held in Vietnam on October 23, 2024.
The consideration for the acquisition is approximately USD 110 million, which includes Berth A2 in TLT, Berths A3, C1-C2 and D1-D3 in HLT where D1-D3 is partly under construction. The total annual capacity will be about 6.7 million TEU once fully completed and operational.
TLT and HLT are the largest terminal operators in the region of Laem Chabang Port. Laem Chabang Port, located to the southeast of Bangkok in Thailand and approximately 60 nautical miles from the Port of Bangkok, is the largest deep-water port in Thailand and serves as the country’s most important international container hub, accounting for approximately 80% of total throughput in Thailand. With the active support of the Thai government in the development of Laem Chabang Port, there will be continued development and expansion of infrastructure projects such as the Thailand Eastern Economic Corridor. Currently, Laem Chabang Port is the main port of call for COSCO SHIPPING Lines dual brands in Thailand.
The acquisition will help COSCO SHIPPING Ports optimise the layout of port resources and deepen the synergies between port and shipping companies, comprehensively enhance the capabilities of local extended logistics businesses, provide customers with better services, as well as accelerate the transformation and upgrading of the port from a single port function to a comprehensive logistics supply chain hub. It believes that the acquisition is of great strategic significance, has good market growth prospects, and will help improve the performance of existing global network services on a continuous basis and enable the company to become a leading global port logistics service provider with a customer-oriented focus, highlighted a release.
Source: Exim News Service: Hong Kong, Oct. 24