BEIJING (Reuters) – COSCO Shipping Ports will acquire a 16.82 percent stake in Qingdao Port International (QPI), operator of China’s sixth busiest port, the company said on Sunday, expanding COSCO’s port network.
Under the agreement, Shanghai China Shipping Terminal Development, a subsidiary of COSCO Shipping Ports, will pay 5.8 billion yuan ($ 844 million) for the shares in QPI.
The deal, to be settled through a combination of equity and cash, will boost COSCO’s share in the Qingdao firm to 18.41 percent, added the company in a statement.
COSCO has been extending its port network with several large deals around the world in recent years.
The companies also agreed to cooperate to develop Qingdao port into an international shipping hub in Northeast Asia and to co-invest in overseas terminal projects including the Khalifa Port Container Terminal II project in Abu Dhabi.
($ 1 = 6.8729 Chinese yuan renminbi)
(Reporting by Dominique Patton; Editing by Mark Potter)
