Cosco-China Given Two-Day Warning

In a bid to clarify how the proposed merger will be managed, the Shanghai Stock Exchange has ordered Cosco and China Shipping Container Lines to provide additional details of its merger before December 25, 2015, according to the Journal of Commerce.

The exchange is seeking to obtain clarification on aspects such as threats to profitability and how this will be handled during the process of merging the container lines.

The Shanghai Stock Exchange, along with financial analysts have also questioned the refocusing of some listed entities, as well as a number of asset transfers.

Issues have also been raised regarding the CSCL’s recent decision to exit the container shipping business, with the carrier saying that it will be focusing on other areas of business and will hand over container shipping business elements to Cosco.

Cosco plans to rent CSCL’s assets, which will include ships and shipping containers while CSCL will manage finance and ship-leasing.

The merger was recently given approval by China’s State Council, which paves the way for the merger to be completed and will be announced shortly.

The plan initially ordered by the Chinese government to boost both carriers’ competiveness in the container shipping market.