China Merchants announced that it has made its first investments in Southeast Asia, providing Episenta Utama Investasi HK$477 million (US $61.2 million) for a 51% stake in Indonesia's Nusantara Pelabuhan Handal (NPH), citing a press release from the company on Monday.
NPH manages two container terminals in Tanjung Priok, the largest port in Jakarta, and one in Bangkok with a combined capacity of one million teu.
On the global scene, two state-backed port operators in China are expanding more quickly than other well-known terminal names, like DP World and PSA International.
“The acquisition will expand China Merchants' strategic port network throughout Southeast Asia and allow them to fully leverage on local partnership to penetrate the Indonesian market”, said a press release.
Additionally, the press release stated that ''China Merchants will be less exposed to risk by taking over a company that is listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange and benefiting from the high corporate governance standards of the listed company''.
In the most recent Drewry Global Container Terminal Operators Annual Review and Forecast report, China Ocean Shipping Company (COSCO) and China Merchants both experienced volume growth of more than 4% in the previous year, solidifying their positions on the podium of terminal operators while their competitors in the top six all saw decreases.