Ningbo Port and Zhoushan Port to merge
Ningbo Port has officially announced that it is currently working on a merger with Zhoushan Port, having suspended trading of the company’s stocks since August 4 to put together the deal.
In August, Zhejiang government announced that a new entity named Zhejiang Port Investment Operation Group (ZPIO) has been established by Zhejiang SASAC. The group is said to be the operating platform for the port assets in Zhejiang including Ningbo Port, Zhoushan Port, Taizhou Port, Wenzhou Port and Jiaxing Port.
In June, Zhoushan Port released an IPO prospectus in which it plans to raise RMB614m ($96.4m) for the development of its Shulanghu iron ore terminal and for capital replenishment. It also said that it was facing fierce competitions from Ningbo Port and Shanghai Port, especially in the container shipping sector.
According to a source in Zhoushan Port, the IPO plan has been shelved due to the ongoing merger deal with Ningbo Port.