Dalian Port (PDA) Co, operator of northern China's second-busiest container harbour, may raise rates this year because government initiatives are fuelling trade in the region.
'Dalian will gradually narrow the gap with rivals in southern and eastern China,' chairman Sun Hong said at a briefing in Hong Kong yesterday. The company - which operates the country's largest oil terminal - may also charge more for oil shipments, he added, but didn't say how much rates would rise by.
The port expects to handle 20 per cent more containers this year and next, helped by government investment incentives designed to spread the country's economic growth beyond the south and east. Shanghai, mainland China's busiest port, is 20 per cent more expensive than Dalian, according to Mr Sun.
'The development of hinterland China enables northern ports to raise container rates,' said Alex Tam, an analyst at CSC Securities Hong Kong Ltd. 'Better transport links, like railways, will also help.'
Dalian Port shares rose 5.7 per cent to HK$5.78 at the 4pm close in Hong Kong yesterday. The stock has climbed 59 per cent this year, compared with an 18 per cent rise in the city's benchmark Hang Seng Index.
The company also plans to increase its handling capacity for oil and liquefied chemicals though a venture with Odfjell ASA, the world's biggest deep-sea chemical-tanker operator.
The terminal, costing as much as 1.5 billion yuan (S$302 million), will have four or five berths and a total capacity of up to 2 million tonnes, Mr Sun said. The ownership structure is yet to be decided. An equal split between Dalian Port and Odfjell, based in Bergen, Norway, is 'feasible for me', Mr Sun said.
The terminal will be located in the Caofeidian industrial zone in northern Henan province. The zone may receive 150 billion yuan in investments in the five years ending 2010, according to CSC Securities' Mr Tam.
Dalian Port will also form an oil-terminal venture with a total investment of 2 billion yuan with a unit of PetroChina Co, Asia's largest oil company by market value, it said last Friday.
The venture will develop terminals with a designed annual handling capacity of 21.1 million tonnes at Xin Gang, Dalian, the port operator said in a Hong Kong stock exchange statement.
'Dalian will gradually narrow the gap with rivals in southern and eastern China,' chairman Sun Hong said at a briefing in Hong Kong yesterday. The company - which operates the country's largest oil terminal - may also charge more for oil shipments, he added, but didn't say how much rates would rise by.
The port expects to handle 20 per cent more containers this year and next, helped by government investment incentives designed to spread the country's economic growth beyond the south and east. Shanghai, mainland China's busiest port, is 20 per cent more expensive than Dalian, according to Mr Sun.
'The development of hinterland China enables northern ports to raise container rates,' said Alex Tam, an analyst at CSC Securities Hong Kong Ltd. 'Better transport links, like railways, will also help.'
Dalian Port shares rose 5.7 per cent to HK$5.78 at the 4pm close in Hong Kong yesterday. The stock has climbed 59 per cent this year, compared with an 18 per cent rise in the city's benchmark Hang Seng Index.
The company also plans to increase its handling capacity for oil and liquefied chemicals though a venture with Odfjell ASA, the world's biggest deep-sea chemical-tanker operator.
The terminal, costing as much as 1.5 billion yuan (S$302 million), will have four or five berths and a total capacity of up to 2 million tonnes, Mr Sun said. The ownership structure is yet to be decided. An equal split between Dalian Port and Odfjell, based in Bergen, Norway, is 'feasible for me', Mr Sun said.
The terminal will be located in the Caofeidian industrial zone in northern Henan province. The zone may receive 150 billion yuan in investments in the five years ending 2010, according to CSC Securities' Mr Tam.
Dalian Port will also form an oil-terminal venture with a total investment of 2 billion yuan with a unit of PetroChina Co, Asia's largest oil company by market value, it said last Friday.
The venture will develop terminals with a designed annual handling capacity of 21.1 million tonnes at Xin Gang, Dalian, the port operator said in a Hong Kong stock exchange statement.