| China Shipping to buy 39 extra ships |
| Tuesday,March 08,2005 Posted: 11:11 BJT(0311 GMT) |
| BEIJING, Mar. 8 -- China Shipping (Group) Ltd, the country's second largest sea transport operator, will buy 39 ships this year at a cost of 8 billion yuan (US$966 million) to meet surging demand.
The company's plan is part of its strategy to be running one of the world's largest three fleets by 2010. Li Kelin, president of China Shipping (Group), told Reuters that the new ships, including 6 oil tankers, will add 2.2 million tons to the company's total capacity, an increase of 17 per cent. China Shipping, parent of Hong Kong-listed China Shipping Container Lines and China Shipping Development, has a fleet of 417 ships, including 90 oil tankers and 120 container vessels. Their deadweight reached 13 million tons in 2004. A company spokesman yesterday declined to comment on the report. Reuters reported the group will finance the acquisitions with bank loans and existing funds. China Shipping is enjoying rapidly increasing demand for its services, spurred by a bottlenecked rail network since 2003. Much of China's coal has to be moved off the tracks and onto water to be shipped from major ports in North China, such as Qinhuangdao, to markets in the east and south. The company delivered more than 100 million tons of coal last year, or 5 per cent of the country's total coal output. The increase saw China Shipping reap a windfall last year. It posted a pre-tax profit of 8.5 billion yuan (US$1 billion) in 2004, up 340 per cent from 2003. "China's existing transport capacity is inadequate to meet the demand for coal," said Li, who is attending the annual meeting of China's National People's Congress. "The situation will last two to three years," he added. Li was also quoted as saying that the group's shipping prices should rise by 3 to 4 per cent this year, driven by rising oil prices. Global shipping rates reached record highs over the past year on the back of voracious demand from developing countries, like India and China, for coal, oil and other raw materials. China Shipping earlier said it planned to increase its container capacity from the current 280,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) to 650,000 TEUs by 2010, ranking it third in the world. (Source: China Daily) |
| (Source: English Site of Kuching) |
 | China not to loosen macro economic control 2005-03-08 11:06 |
| 1st direct flights between China, Spain to open in May 2005-03-08 11:05 |
| China does not pursue forex reserve surge intentionally 2005-03-08 11:04 |
| Taiwan EVA Air rents MD freighters to expand US market 2005-03-08 11:03 |
| US technology giant to share semiconductor market in China 2005-03-08 11:01 |
| China targets US$30.12b gov't procurement 2005-03-08 11:00 |
| OFW remittances to rise 10 pct in 2005: central bank 2005-03-08 10:59 |
| GM cuts car prices amid accelerating price war 2005-03-08 10:59 |
| Oil exploration aims to meet energy shortages 2005-03-08 10:57 |
| Foreign investors urged not to seek quick gains 2005-03-08 10:56 |
All articles marked with "Article type: Original" posted on the website of the Ministry of Commerce and its sub-sites are copyrighted by this Website and its sub-sites. Any reproduction or use by any other websites, media or individuals must be attached with a clear indication of "Source: Ministry of Commerce Website".
All articles posted on this website or its sub-sites marked with "Article type: reproduced" or "Article type: translated" and "Article type: redistributed" come from other media, and are provided solely for the user's information, which does not mean this Website or its sub-sites endorse the ideas thereof or assume any legal liability or responsibility for their authenticity. Any other media, websites or individuals must maintain the source of information indication on this Website or its sub-sites when using the information, and shall assume legal liability for the use.
