Hong Kong-listed COSCO Pacific Limited has completed the acquisition of a 20% stake in the Suez Canal Container Terminal from Egyptian International Container Terminal, a subsidiary of the A.P. Moller-Maersk Group.
The move to buy the stake in the Port Said facilities for an undisclosed price has been welcomed by officials as an effort to boost the company's presence outside China.
Officials expect that some $730 million could be invested in the first two phases of the Port Said venture.
The terminal, which has been operational since October 2004, is expected to handle 1.75 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) this year. The second phase of the terminal will double its initial total capacity of 2.55 million TEUs per year to 5.1 million TEUs.
Port Said is COSCO Pacific's third venture outside China following investments in Belgium and Singapore.
Officials say that there are plans to spend some $440 million this year on terminals alone with the aim of adding an average of 20 berths a year to its worldwide portfolio until 2010.
On the Chinese front, CP Xiamen, a wholly-owned COSCO Pacific subsidiary, has signed an agreement with a Chinese partner for a container terminal joint venture in Xiamen, situated in southeastern China's Fujian province.
In a statement filed with the Shanghai Stock Exchange, COSCO Pacific parent China COSCO Holdings Co Ltd said that total investment on the joint venture will be about $538 million with CP Xiamen holding a 70% stake.
The move to buy the stake in the Port Said facilities for an undisclosed price has been welcomed by officials as an effort to boost the company's presence outside China.
Officials expect that some $730 million could be invested in the first two phases of the Port Said venture.
The terminal, which has been operational since October 2004, is expected to handle 1.75 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) this year. The second phase of the terminal will double its initial total capacity of 2.55 million TEUs per year to 5.1 million TEUs.
Port Said is COSCO Pacific's third venture outside China following investments in Belgium and Singapore.
Officials say that there are plans to spend some $440 million this year on terminals alone with the aim of adding an average of 20 berths a year to its worldwide portfolio until 2010.
On the Chinese front, CP Xiamen, a wholly-owned COSCO Pacific subsidiary, has signed an agreement with a Chinese partner for a container terminal joint venture in Xiamen, situated in southeastern China's Fujian province.
In a statement filed with the Shanghai Stock Exchange, COSCO Pacific parent China COSCO Holdings Co Ltd said that total investment on the joint venture will be about $538 million with CP Xiamen holding a 70% stake.