China Merchants Group, the investor in ports moving about a third of the nation's containers, will seek more overseas projects as local trade growth slows from this year's "stellar" pace, Bloomberg News reported Thursday.
The company is looking at building ports and investing in facilities in "newly emerging markets," the report cited the company's chairman, Fu Yuning, in Shenzhen. But he didn't elaborate on which countries the group was targeting, the report added.
Chinese ports' traffic growth will likely cool in 2011, Fu said, after the end of global recession caused a surge in exports of toys, furniture and auto-parts this year. The company has forecast a jump of more than 20 percent in 2010 volumes, compared with a decline of 13 percent a year earlier, the report said.
"In 2011, there will be volume growth, but it won't be as stellar as 2010," Fu said. "Slower growth rates in the US and Europe could also affect China's trade."
According to the report, listed unit China Merchants Holdings (International) Co has agreed to investments in Nigeria, Sri Lanka and Vietnam to pare its reliance on China trade. The State-owned group has also bought Australia-based Loscam Ltd this year to enter the pallet-pooling market, it said.
"It's a good time to buy overseas assets as trade is rebounding.
"China Merchants is also well-placed to benefit from China's still fast growth in imports and exports." the report cited Kenny Tang, executive director at Redford Assets Management Ltd in Hong Kong, as saying.
China Merchants Group, founded in 1872, has operations in areas including banking, real estate and shipping in addition to its ports unit, the report said.
