Singapore’s Pan-United has bought a 90 percent stake in the multi-purpose Changshu Changjiang International Port (CCIP).
The buy was made through the corporations 85.5 percent owned Changshu Xinghua Port (CXP).
The total cost of the purchase was RMB436.5 million, which CXP expects to finance with cash and bank borrowings.
On February 18, CXP received the 90 percent stake from Changshu Binjiang Urban Construction Investment & Management (CBUC), a company owned by Jiangsu Changshu Economic Development Group (JCED).
CBUC will retain a 10 percent share in the Port.
May Ng, Pan-United CEO said: “The acquisition enhances the facilities we can offer to our customers as well as provides increased capacity for domestic cargoes. By scaling up our port business, we can achieve commercial and operational synergies and efficiency. We are confident of improving returns from the port and creating more shareholder value in the medium term.”
“With two multi-purpose ports in our stable, we expect to increase our market share and boost our position as one of China’s key logistics hubs serving the industrial hinterland along the Yangtze River. This move is also in line with PUC’s strategy to expand its core businesses and raise the group’s foreign-sourced income.”
Located directly adjacent to CXP, the addition of the CCIP will increase Pan-United’s overall handling capacity by 60 percent, up to 16 million tonnes per annum. The berth length available will increase from 1.7 kilometres to 2.8 kilometres.
Total land available will increase to 1.36 square kilometres, whilst warehouse space will increase a massive 67 percent, providing a total of 175,000 square metres of space.
CXP is among one of the top 10 river ports in China and one of the key hubs for the import/export of pulp, logs, and finished steel products for the Chinese Market. As of September 2013, CXP handled over 16 percent of China’s pulp imports and 18 percent of the nation’s log imports from New Zealand.
