China Merchant Ports Holdings (CMPort) has sold 23.5% of the Hambantota Port in Sri Lanka to Fujian Transportation Maritime Silk Road Investment and Management (Fujian TMSR).
In a statement, CMPort said it will transfer part of its shares in its wholly owned subsidiary Gainpro Resources, which owns 85% of the Hambantota International Port Group (HIPG) of the Hambantota International Port Group (HIPG) for approximately $268 million.
The agreement was made official during an online signing ceremony between Deng Renjie, Executive Vice President of China Merchants Group Company Limited, Lu Yongxin, Deputy General Manager of CMPort and others.
The ceremony also saw Fujian Provincial Communication Transportation Group Co., Ltd (FJCT), a long standing partner of CMPorts and affiliate of Fujian TMSR, agree to act as a guarantor of the deal.
The Port of Hambantota is seen as a key strategic hub linking Asia Pacific with Europe and North America, and one of the biggest areas of investment for the China as it looks to build its One Belt, One Road – CMPorts has been operating it since 2017.
Deng Renjie during the signing ceremony, saying: “CMG and FJCT has a long history of collaboration, this cooperation is not only a role model for both sides to integrate resources, complement each other’s advantages and invest overseas as a group, but also the injection of new impetus to speed up the construction of Hambantota as South Asia shipping center.
“I hope both sides will give full play to their respective advantages, seize the opportunity of digital transformation of port and shipping industry and domestic industrial transfer to explore the cooperation of port business at home and abroad, fasten the injection of advantageous industries in the industrial park of Hambantota.
