A.P. Moller tightens links with China

A.P. Moller tightens links with China    A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S has ordered another four ships from China, the latest of a series of initiatives to tighten the company’s business links with the Asian country.
   In the presence of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen, in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, A.P. Moller-Maersk officials and representatives of the Dalian New Shipbuilding and Guangzhou Shipyard International signed contracts confirming orders to build four product tankers in China.
   A.P. Moller-Maersk, the largest company in Denmark, is regarded as having close support from the Danish government.
   “With the signing of these contracts, the A.P. Moller-Maersk group has since 1996 ordered 51 large ocean going vessels from Chinese shipyards, representing a value exceeding $1.5 billion, making the group the largest foreign buyer of vessels built in China,” the Danish conglomerate said in a statement.
   A.P. Moller-Maersk is the parent company of Maersk Tankers, Maersk Sealand, Maersk Logistics, APM Terminals and other transport, retail and industrial companies.
   APM Terminals has recently signed contracts to operate container terminals in the ports of Shanghai and Qingdao.