COSCO Shipping Ports Limited (COSCO) and China Shipping Terminal Development Co. (CSTD) have signed the Tianjin Container Terminal (TCT) Joint Venture (JV) Agreement and the articles of association.
Located in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Economic Circle, TCT holds a favourable geographical advantage and is highly competitive in the Bohai Rim area.
The agreements were signed with Tianjin Port Holdings Co., Ltd and China Merchants International Terminals Limited on 24 November 2021 and will see TCT perform the business registration procedures for the JV Agreement and Articles as soon as possible in order to complete all conditions precedent of the acquisition.
The acquisition is in line with COSCO’s strategic planning and will see it hold 45% of the equity interests in TCT, while CSTD holds 6%. This will officially make the container terminal a subsidiary of the Chinese port operator. This is scheduled to be completed in the near future.
Following the signing of these agreements, COSCO is expected to fully facilitate the development of TCT as an international shipping hub in Northern China. This is to be done by proactively optimising the operational efficiency of the shipping lines calling at the terminal and promoting the synergy of the hub-and-spoke and transshipment network in the Bohai Rim region.
COSCO Shipping has also recently signed a number of procurement agreements with several of its suppliers from Japan and Singapore during the 4th China International Import Expo (CIIE) at the National Exhibition and Convention Center (NECC) in Shanghai.
Announced in November 2021, China Marine Bunker Supply Company (CHUMBUSCO) signed bunker fuel oil procurement agreements, COSCO Shipping Trading signed a petroleum asphalt procurement agreement and Nantong COSCO KHI Ship Engineering Co. Ltd (NACKS) signed ship equipment and ship plates procurement agreements with its suppliers.
The agreements aim to further promote the long-term and stable development of the parties involved.
