China National Foreign Trade Transportation Group Corporation (Sinotrans Group) has confirmed that it is in talks to merge with state-owned shipping conglomerate China Changjiang National Shipping Group Corporation (CSC Group), but denied recent media reports that official approval for the merger has already been granted.
The State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC), which controls all state-owned businesses in China, is leading the talks between the two companies, an executive who works at the Beijing headquarters of Sinotrans Group said.
The executive, who preferred not to be named, also said that owing to the complexity and size of the possible merger, the discussion is expected to take time and there has been no conclusion yet.
According to the executive, the companies still need to sort out several issues, such as whether both companies could keep their names, the roles of senior managers after the merger, and where to site the combined headquarters.
The executive denied local media reports that said the Chinese government had given official approval to the merger plan.
The head of CSC Group’s promotion department, Liu Guoshan, said he had not been notified about official approval for the merger.
The State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC), which controls all state-owned businesses in China, is leading the talks between the two companies, an executive who works at the Beijing headquarters of Sinotrans Group said.
The executive, who preferred not to be named, also said that owing to the complexity and size of the possible merger, the discussion is expected to take time and there has been no conclusion yet.
According to the executive, the companies still need to sort out several issues, such as whether both companies could keep their names, the roles of senior managers after the merger, and where to site the combined headquarters.
The executive denied local media reports that said the Chinese government had given official approval to the merger plan.
The head of CSC Group’s promotion department, Liu Guoshan, said he had not been notified about official approval for the merger.