China Merchants Port has made its first investments into Southeast Asia, forking out HK$480m ($61.5m) to acquire an 85% stake in Indonesia’s Nusantara Pelabuhan Handal (NPH) from Episenta Utama Investasi.
NPH operates two box terminals in Jakarta’s largest port, Tanjung Priok, and one in Bangkok, with a combined capacity of 1m teu.
China’s two state-backed port operators are growing faster on the international stage than other established terminal names such as PSA International and DP World.
COSCO and China Merchants both saw volumes grow last year by more than 4%, cementing their place on the podium of terminal operators while their rivals in the top six all registered declines, according to Drewry’s latest Global Container Terminal Operators Annual Review and Forecast report.