Yang Ming completes rights offering

The Taiwanese ocean carrier finalized the rights offering of 500 million new shares at 12 new Taiwan dollars per share, cashing in a total of NTD 6 billion (U.S. $200 million).    Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp. has completed the rights offering of 500 million new shares at 12 new Taiwan dollars per share, cashing in a total of NTD 6 billion (U.S. $200 million), the Taiwanese ocean carrier revealed Monday.
   The company began floating new shares in the public sector back in September. In addition to the original shareholders, it was open to ordinary investors, including insurance institutions, and container stevedoring and transport companies.
   After the rights offering, the shareholding ratio of government shareholders of Yang Ming – including the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, the National Development Fund, Executive Yuan and the Taiwan International Ports Corp. – will reach 38.23 percent.
   Yang Ming also said the private placement of capital increase, which was passed last year in a shareholders meeting, is ongoing steadily and is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
   Looking ahead, Yang Ming said it vows to continue the strategy of opening new sources of revenues and reducing expenditures. The company also said it will work out various plans to make the performance of its fleet more effective and expand its service network throughout the world.
   After net losses of NTD 901 million and NTD 445 million in the first and second quarter of 2017, respectively, Yang Ming posted a net profit of NTD 1.26 billion for the third quarter of 2017.
   “As Yang Ming’s financial health continues to recover, the company looks to opportunities to expand operations and improve its service network,” the company said earlier this month. “In Southeast Asia, Yang Ming will partner with the Taiwan International Port Corporation to jointly invest in Indonesia to upgrade shipping and logistics infrastructure for the benefit of our customer base. Additionally, Yang Ming will be establishing a Regional Operating Center to oversee the company’s operations in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea.”