Port Consortium News

Malaysia and China are working to boost connectivity between their sea ports to raise bilateral trade to achieve a trade volume of $160bn by 2017, says a report in the Star. Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said  the two countries were also exploring the introduction of more flight routes between the two countries to promote tourism and strengthening trade ties. "We are working towards increasing efficiency and effectiveness of the ports in order to achieve a trade volume of US$160bil (RM662bil) by 2017," he said. In September 2015 China's Guangxi Beibu Gulf International Port Group bought a 40% stake in Kuantan Port Consortium for approximately USD94 million for expansion works on the biggest port in the east coast of Malaysia.

Banque Atlantique, SocGen and Afreximbank have raised 200 million euros (US$272.81 million) to start a second container terminal at Abidjan port in Ivory Coast [West Africa], a banking spokesman said on Thursday. The new terminal contract, awarded to a group led by France's Bollore last year, should boost capacity at one of Africa's busiest ports - a gateway for landlocked nations to the north and a transit point for beans from the world's top cocoa grower. Port traffic is booming and total tonnage surpassed 21 million tonnes in 2013. Banque Atlantique has raised 100 million euros and Societe Generale and Afreximbank gave 50 million euros each, Souleymane Diarrassouba, director general of Banque Atlantique, told Reuters. His bank is a subsidiary of Banque Populaire du Maroc.

Taiwan's Evergreen Marine forged an alliance with three local counterparts on Friday to bid jointly for a container port project in Taipei Harbor. Evergreen Marine, Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp., Wan Hai Lines and Evergreen Transport said in a joint statement they would set up the Taipei Port Consortium to issue the bid. Evergreen Marine and Evergreen Transport, members of the giant Evergreen transportation conglomerate, would own a combined 50 percent of the new company, which would have initial paid-in capital of T$800 million. Wan Hai would hold 40 percent, and Yang Ming would own 10 percent, the companies said. The estimated T$20 billion port project…