Compania Sudamericana De Vapores News

South Korea's antitrust watchdog Fair Trade Commission (FTC)  has imposed a combined 43 billion won (US$37.8 million) in fines on nine global auto shipping companies for bid rigging and price fixing, reported Yonhap. According to the FTC, the nine car shipping companies colluded between August 2002 and September 2012 in global biddings offered by car manufacturers that they should “respect” existing contracts of one another so as not to compete. The nine car shipping companies are Japan’s Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Nissan Motor Car Carrier and Eastern Car Liner, Norway’s Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics and Hoegh Autoliners, Chile’s Compania Sudamericana de Vapores S.A. and Korea’s Eukor Car Carriers.

German container shipping group Hapag-Lloyd, which is merging with Chile's Compania SudAmericana de Vapores, is in no rush to list its share on the stock exchange, its chief executive said on Wednesday. "A stock market flotation is currently not top priority for us," Rolf Habben Jansen said, adding the company would first focus on integrating Vapores into its business. In the longer run, Hapag-Lloyd still aims to launch an initial public offering, but the CEO said it was difficult to predict whether this would be possible at the end of 2015 already, as hoped, or not until early 2016. Reporting by Jan Schwartz; Writing by Maria Sheahan

Germany's Hapag-Lloyd said on Tuesday it had received the last outstanding regulatory approvals for its planned merger with Chilean shipper Compania SudAmericana de Vapores, clearing the way for the two companies to be formally combined. The merger, which will create the world's No. 4 container-shipping company, is important for the shipping industry which hopes that consolidation will ease the pressure on freight rates, helping it to overcome the worst slump on record. Hapag-Lloyd said it would execute a planned capital increase worth 370 million euros ($459 million) by Dec. 31, which will make Vapores its biggest shareholders with a 34 percent stake. The main steps to integrate the two companies should be completed by the end of the second quarter 2015, it said.

United Arab Shipping Company (UASC) is on a major expansion drive, investing more than $2 billion in bigger ships and forming alliances with peers to boost efficiencies and ride out tough markets. The shipping industry has been battling overcapacity, linked to a glut of new vessels ordered during a boom period before the global financial crisis of 2007-2009, forcing operators to look for ways to overcome one of the worst slumps on record. Despite the oversupply, companies are…

Hapag-Lloyd and Compania SudAmericana de Vapores (CSAV) secured conditional European Union approval on Thursday for their tie-up to create the world's fourth-largest container shipping company. The merger is important for the shipping industry which hopes more deals could help it to overcome the worst slump on record. And if regulators take a soft line on any concessions required to allow the deal to proceed, this could spur more consolidation in the industry. The European Commission…

European Union antitrust regulators will conditionally clear a deal by Hapag-Lloyd and Compania SudAmericana de Vapores to form the world's fourth-largest container shipping company, two people familiar with the matter said on Friday. The case is important for the shipping industry where consolidation could help it to overcome the worst slump on record. And if regulators take a soft line on any concessions required to allow the deal to proceed this could spur more mergers in the industry.

Germany's Hapag-Lloyd's said it expected operating profit to drop considerably this year after tough competition in container shipping dragged freight rates lower in the second quarter. The company, partly owned by TUI AG, posted a second-quarter operating loss of 73.7 million euros ($98.5 million), compared with an operating profit of 13.5 million euros a year earlier. "The fact that we ended up with this unsatisfactory result despite clear efforts to cut costs is down to the disappointing development of freight rates across all trades," Chief Executive Rolf Habben Jansen said in a statement on Tuesday. Its quarterly net loss widened to 173.3 million euros from 72.7 million a year earlier…

Germany's second biggest container shipper Hamburg Süd is seeking options for the business after merger talks with bigger rival Hapag-Lloyd failed last year, Chief Executive Ottmar Gast said on Tuesday. "We are working on alternatives," Gast told reporters at the results news conference of Hamburg-Sued parent Oetker Group. Gast, who is part of the four-member management group of Oetker Group's holding company Dr. August Oetker KG, did not provide details, noting only that "size isn't everything".

Company says freight rates remain under pressure; blames tough competition, weak U.S. dollar. Pins hopes on G6 alliance, container merger with CSAV. German shipping company Hapag-Lloyd's first-quarter loss widened as its revenue declined, hit by tough competition which depressed freight rates and a weak dollar. Shipping groups have been struggling through the worst slump on record, as they grapple with low freight rates caused by overcapacity and a weak global economy. Hapag-Lloyd's first-quarter operating loss increased to 63.2 million euros ($86.9 million) from 53.2 million euros in the same period a year ago, even though transport volumes rose 5.5 percent to 1.4 million twenty-foot-equivalent units (TEU).

A significant majority of shareholders in Chilean shipper Compania SudAmericana de Vapores lent their support to the firm's merger with Germany's Hapag-Lloyd, allowing the agreed deal to clear a hurdle. The deal to create the world's No. 4 container-shipping company was conditional on no more than 5 percent of Vapores' total shareholders exercising withdrawal rights by April 20. The Chilean company said on Monday that dissident shareholders exercised withdrawal rights on only 2.7 percent of total shares. "This is another step in the road to completing this transaction, which we're sure will be enormously beneficial for our company and our investors," Vapores chief executive Oscar Hasbun said.

South Korea's Samsung Heavy Industries said on Wednesday that it is proceeding with a project worth 642.9 billion won ($617.67 million) to build seven container ships as planned. The shipbuilder won the order from Chilean shipping firm Compania Sudamericana de Vapores (CSAV) a year ago. ($1 = 1040.8500 Korean won) (By Hyunjoo Jin; editing by Miral Fahmy)

Reuters –  Chilean shipping firm Compania Sudamericana de Vapores has agreed to plead guilty to a price-fixing conspiracy and pay an $8.9 million criminal fine to the U.S. government, the U.S. Justice Department informs. The Justice Department's anti-trust prosecutors said in a statement that the company had conspired to rig bids to push up prices of shipping cargo such as cars and trucks to and from the United States. "Today's charges are the first to be filed in the Antitrust Division's investigation into bid rigging and price fixing of ocean shipping services," said Bill Baer, assistant attorney general in charge of the Department of Justice's Antitrust Division.