China Cosco Shipping and China Merchants are reportedly looking to sell their shareholdings in the Kao Ming Container Terminal in Taiwan’s Kaohsiung Port, China Times reports.
In December 2012, Cosco Pacific, China Shipping Terminal and China Merchants Holdings formed a joint venture, which acquired 30% equity interest in Kao Ming Container Terminal for $135m. Each party holds a 10% stake in the terminal. Taiwanese shipping line Yang Ming Marine Transport is the controlling shareholder of the terminal with an interest of 60%.
The deal was completed when Cosco and Yang Ming were both in the CKYH Alliance and at the time it was one of the largest investments Chinese mainland companies had made in Taiwan, hailed as a sign of thawing relationships across the Taiwan Strait.
In 2016, after the merger between Cosco and China Shipping, the new China Cosco Shipping joined the Ocean Alliance while Yang Ming joined rival grouping, THE Alliance.
China Times cited industry experts saying deteriorating political relations between mainland China and Taiwan could be one of the major reasons for the divestment as well as the change in liner alliances.
