No. 2 Taiwan shipper to add terminal at top island port
TAIPEI, Jan 14 (Reuters) - Taiwan's No. 2 shipper, Yang Ming Marine (2609.TW), will open a new terminal at the island's main port in Kaohsiung, buying $100 million in equipment for it from China in anticipation the slumping industry will pick up by 2011.
Yang Ming expects the four-berth terminal, a new development at the port complex, to expand its operations by 50 percent in Kaohsiung, said Winsor Huang, the company's vice president of corporate planning.
Last month Yang Ming signed deals for eight cranes and next month it will arrange to buy 22 more from Shanghai Zhenhua Port Machinery Co Ltd (600320.SS) to equip the terminal, Huang said.
The terminal will open in 2011 with a capacity for 2.92 million TEUs (20-foot equivalent units) annually and be used for 50 years with an option to renew after that, Huang said.
Huang said the Yang Ming expects to be fully utilising its current facilities in Kaohsiung by 2011, around the same time the new terminal will come on stream.
Taiwan relies of shipping for its large export complex, a key driver of GDP growth.
The island's exports were growing by double digits as recently as August but have tumbled in the past few months as the world economy slows. In December exports fell by a record 42 percent.
Yang Ming, which is 35 percent invested by the Taiwan government, expects global shipping to stay depressed through 2011 and in the short term plans to remove 10 ships from its fleet due to falling demand.
Yang Ming competes in Taiwan with Evergreen Marine (2603.TW), the island's biggest shipping firm. Both companies are expected to benefit from the recent signing of a landmark deal opening direct shipping links with China, Taiwan's biggest trading partner, for the first time in six decades.
(Editing by Doug Young)
