China Merchant Ports (CMPorts) has refused to either deny or confirm rumours its owner, China Merchant Group, is planning to remove it from the Hong Kong stock exchange.
In a statement, CMPorts said it is “not aware of any related information” regarding a possible move and urged its shareholders to refer only to its official notifications for information.
The share price of CMPort jumped by 29.5% on 28 April after Bloomberg reported that China Merchants Group were considering taking it from the stock market. That was after it had fallen 31% the day before.
Talks are said to be at an early stage but if they did happen then CMPort would join other major Chinese conglomerates, such as the China General Nuclear Power Corporation to delist.
The terminal operator would also join DP World in moving away from the stock exchange. DP World announced plans to delist from the Nasdaq Dubai stock exchange in February 2020.
It did so in order to focus its long term strategy on creating value within the supply chain, and to free itself from the “short-term demands” of the stock market.
CMPorts, though largely a terminal operator, has divisions in logistics and freight, and like other stakeholders is pursuing a business strategy which is aimed at building a seamless, visible supply chain.
