Top Biz News

Ningbo Port eyes Shanghai listing

By Wan Zhihong and Wang Xiaotian (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-03-06 09:00

A container ship is loaded at Ningbo Port. ZHANG HEPING/ FOR CHINA DAILY

BEIJING - Ningbo Port Co Ltd is expected to list its stock in Shanghai at the end of the second quarter of this year, the company's chairman said on Friday.

"We will list our shares at the end of the second quarter at the latest," Li Linghong, board chairman of the company, told China Daily on the sidelines of the ongoing National People's Congress session.

The company has submitted an application to the China Securities Regulatory Commission for a Shanghai listing, said Li. It will use the proceeds to build some new docks as well as undertake some mergers and acquisitions, he added, without elaborating.

Reuters reported last December that the company will raise about 10 billion yuan via a Shanghai listing, citing sources familiar with the matter.

The report said Ningbo Port's Shanghai IPO will fund its further acquisitions and, in the long-term, the port will continue to seek an overseas listing, very likely in Hong Kong.

Ningbo Port also plans to merge with smaller Zhoushan Port to jointly fight fast rising competition from the bigger Shanghai Port, said the report.

"Ningbo Port's business is well balanced. Compared with Shanghai, the busiest port in the country, Ningbo is involved more in crude oil trade while Shanghai has more advantages in the container business," said Zhang Hui, an analyst at Donghai Securities.

As the world's second largest oil consumer, China imported 17.11 million tons of crude in January, up 33 percent year-on-year, customs data showed.

Ningbo Port plans to invest 3 billion yuan in three new projects this year, including a deepwater dock and a crude oil dock, said Li.

The company's container throughput is expected to rise 5.6 percent this year from 2009. Its cargo throughput is forecast to grow 5 percent, said Li.

"It is certain that our business this year will be better than 2009 and we have already seen good signs," said Li. The company's business was affected by the economic downturn last year, especially in the first quarter.

In the first two months of this year, the company's container throughput rose 30 percent year-on-year, and cargo throughput increased 28 percent, he said.