* Dubai Taps Into Chinese Growth Through Acquisition Of Port OperationsPaying a sum of US$1.15 billion, DPI, the investment arm of the state-owned Dubai Ports Authority, outbid the world’s two largest container port operators, Hutchinson Whampoa and Singapore’s PSA international, for CSX’s ports and logistics concern.
As a leader in the world freight business, CSX has operations in Asia, Europe, Australia and Latin America. However, it is the operations in Hong Kong – the world’s busiest container port - Tianjin and Yantai in booming China that have aroused the most interest.
The deal includes 9 terminals with combined future capacity of 14.6 million TEUs (20-foot equivalent units, the standard measure for a single container) in Hong Kong, Yantai and Tianjin, in addition operations in Adelaide in Australia, Venezuela and the Dominican Republic.
When the transaction is completed in the first quarter of 2005, Dubai Ports will also have a controlling stake in the highly profitable container Terminal No. 3 at Hong Kong's main Kwai Chung Container Port.
“This is a major step in DPI's global expansion strategy” noted Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Executive Chairman, Dubai Ports.
“The acquisition will give DPI an important platform in the North Asia region, notably in Hong Kong, China and Korea and further expands our global network in Europe and the Americas,” he added.