Market likes Sinotrans merger news
Shares in Sinotrans Ltd and Sinotrans Shipping leapt in double-digit figures today in early trading on the Hong Kong bourse following revelations the group is being forced by Beijing to merge with China Merchants Energy Shipping (CMES).
Local shipping news site ship.sh claimed this week that CMES and Sinotrans&CSC will merge.
According to data provided exclusively to Splash by online pricing vehicle, VesselsValue.com, the combined entity would become the 24th largest shipping line in the world with combined fleet of 208 vessels totalling just shy of 10m dwt and worth $3.51bn.
The news follows on from last month’s details of a planned tie up between the country’s top two shipping lines, Cosco and China Shipping.
Commenting on the CMES/Sinotrans&CSC deal, Charles De Trenck, a Splash columnist and long term watcher of the Chinese shipping scene, said: “It appears to make sense to bring fleets together if overheads and [state-owned enterprise] managements get streamlined.”
Non-container assets will likely be the easier portion, De Trenck reckoned.