Hph Trust News

Hong Kong's Hutchison Port Holdings Trust (HPH Trust) saw its fourth-quarter earnings fall 38.4 per cent on weaker revenue and losses from associated companies. The company announced an attributable net profit of HK$237.8 million for the three months to Dec 31 last year - down from HK$385.8 million in the same period a year earlier. The Trustee-Manager remains cautiously optimistic about the expected cargo volume for 2018. Major liners have announced plans to continue to invest and build more megavessels of up to 22,000 TEU and this potential excess capacity will likely put pressure on freight rates, and as a result, keep port tariffs in check.

Hong Kong Container port business trust Hutchison Port Holdings Trust (HPH Trust) has reached an agreement to purchase a majority stake in Huizhou International Container Terminals Limited (HICT) in Guangdong from the trust’s sponsor for about $86.26m. HPH Trust will acquire 65% and 15% of HITC equity interest, respectively through its subsidiaries, Yantian International Container Terminals (Phase III) Limited (YICT III) and Shenzhen Pingyan Multimodal Company Limited (PML). The company said that, upon completion of the acquisition, HICT will be jointly held by YICT III, Huizhou Port Group (HPG) and PML in the proportions of 65%, 20% and 15%.

Hutchison Port Holdings' (HPH) Hong Kong assets marked a significant milestone with cumulative throughput of 200 million teu. Excerpts from his speech: "For decades, Hong Kong has been a major hub port in the region. For the past 10 years (2005-2014), the average annual throughput at the Hong Kong Port was some 23 million TEUs. This is indeed a highly impressive performance having regard to the physical size of the Kwai Tsing Container Terminals. The efforts made by different parties operating the Hong Kong Port must be recognised. Hutchison International Terminals is a major operator of Hong Kong's container terminals. Today, HPH Trust is celebrating its milestone achievement of handling the 200 millionth TEU.

Bigger container ships are resulting in much greater peaks in container terminal activity, which together with the ever larger combined volumes of bigger alliances, demands fewer, larger terminals in each port. Terminal operators are reacting by consolidating terminal layouts and ownership – and by working more closely together – but what are the consequences for their customers? Drewry Maritime Research discuss in this extract from their latest 'Container Insight Weekly'. A recent visit to the Eurogate terminal in Hamburg by China Shipping’s post-Panamax vessel CSCL Le Havre involved an exchange of 11,600 teu, illustrating the sheer scale of volumes per call that terminals increasingly have to deal with. The vessel is shared with CMA CGM and UASC.

The ITF (International Transport Workers' Federation) spoke out against a temporary injunction that throws out striking dockers from Kwai Tsing Container Terminals, Port of Hong Kong. On January 30, the ITF Hong Kong Dockers Coordinating Committee comprised of Hong Kong Storehouses, Transportation and Logistics Staff Association (HKSTLSA), the Union of Hong Kong Dockers (UHKD) and the Hong Kong Docks and Ports Industry Unions (HKDPIU) called for dialogue with Hong Kong International Terminals (HIT) and its subcontractors over decent working conditions for all workers regardless of their employment status. In response to a lack of dialogue from the company and its disregard for the union's call for pay parity…

DP World has entered into two transactions to monetise its interests in two container terminals & a logistics centre in Hong Kong. The transactions will see DP World monetise 75% of its interests in CSX World Terminals Hong Kong Limited (CT3), which operates berth 3 of the Kwai Chung Container Terminal (‘CT3’) and ATL Logistics Centre Hong Kong Limited (ATL), a logistics centre located alongside CT3, and 100% of its interest in Asia Container Terminal Ltd (ACT), which operates Asia Container Terminal 8 West (CT8).