Biggest shipping-container maker plans 6b yuan share sale

[BEIJING] China International Marine Containers Group Co, the world's biggest maker of shipping containers, plans to raise as much as 6 billion yuan (S$1.25 billion) selling shares to fund an expansion of a business park in Shenzhen and other assets.

The company, also known as CIMC, will sell yuan-denominated stock to a maximum of 10 investors, it said in a filing April 9.

The money from the share sale, which requires regulatory approval, will be used to fund the development works of CIMC's financial-leasing arm.

The stock will be sold at 13.86 yuan each, marking a discount of 8.2 per cent over the closing price April 8.

CIMC's expansion of diversified businesses comes amid a global slump in container-shipping rates and overcapacity in the sea-freight market. Shipping lines worldwide have been selling assets and exploring consolidations to stem losses as the fees they charge customers plunged after years of slowing trade and overcapacity.

CIMC rose 2.1 per cent to 15.42 yuan as of 10:53 am in Shenzhen trading. The stock has dropped 27 per cent this year.

Other than supplying logistical equipment, CIMC is also the developer behind the Songshan Lake National High-Tech Industrial Development Zone in Dongguan, in southern Guangdong province.

The company counts China Merchants Group and Cosco Container Industries Ltd among its biggest shareholders.

BLOOMBERG