Zhejiang to integrate major port assets
Zhejiang government is currently planning to integrate five major ports including Ningbo Port, Zhoushan Port, Jiaxing Port, Taizhou Port and Wenzhou Port and operate the ports under one platform in order to optimize port assets in the region, local financial media has reported. This is the latest in a series of sweeping port reorganisations across the nation.
Zhejiang government announced on August 17 that a new entity named Zhejiang Port Investment Operation Group (ZPIO) has been established by Zhejiang SASAC (State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission), and Mao Jianhong, former president of Zhejiang Construction Investment Group, has been appointed as president of ZPIO.
ZPIO is said to be the operating platform for the port assets in Zhejiang upon competition of the integration.
The group will also be the largest port company in China in terms of port throughput.
Ningbo Port has suspended stock trading since August 5. It announced in an update yesterday that it is currently planning a major port asset restructuring deal, and is still waiting for approvals from authorities.
According to an official from Zhoushan Port, the first step of the potential integration will be the merger between Ningbo Port and Zhoushan Port.
Li Qiang, governor Zhejiang province, said in a government meeting that the government will promote the integration between Ningbo Port and Zhoushan Port in 2015, in a response to the central government’s ‘One Belt, One Road’ policy.