Hanjin Shipping Co., South Korea's biggest shipping line, said it agreed to sell its container terminal operations in Taiwan and Japan for 322.3 billion won (US$352 million) to a venture it partly owns.
The terminals in Tokyo and Kaohsiung are to be sold to Hanjin Pacific Corp., which Hanjin Shipping set up with Macquarie Korea Opportunities Fund, the Seoul-based shipping company said in a regulatory filing yesterday. Hanjin Shipping and other rivals are selling their terminal operations to focus more on cargo transport to cater to growing global trade. In the last five years, container shipping lines have increased fees amid rising demand. Worldwide trade is estimated to expand 8.9 percent this year and 7.6 percent in 2007, according to the International Monetary Fund. Orient Overseas (International) Ltd. of Hong Kong also agreed in November to sell its North American container terminals to Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, Canada's third-biggest retirement-fund manager, for US$2.35 billion. Hanjin Shipping said in September it will acquire a 60 percent stake in each of two ventures that will take over the shipping line's terminal operations in the U.S., Japan and Taiwan.
The remaining shares are owned by Macquarie Korea Opportunities. Hanjin Shipping shares rose 0.2 percent to close at 27,550 won ahead of the announcement. The shares have gained 20 percent this year, compared with a 2.5 percent advance in the benchmark Kospi index.