CMB PLANS TO HIVE OFF LNG ARM

CMB PLANS TO HIVE OFF LNG ARM    The Belgian shipping group CMB will submit to its board meeting a proposal to hive off Exmar, its liquefied natural gas and offshore arm, as a separate stock market-listed company.
   Under the plan, Exmar would be listed on the Euronext market in Brussels, and CMB shareholders would receive new shares in Exmar pro-rata to their existing CMB shares. CMB would continue to run its dry bulk and crude oil tanker shipping businesses.
   A spokesman for CMB said that, as an independent company, Exmar would be better placed to take advantage of growth opportunities in the liquefied natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas markets.
   CMB believes that its gas shipping business has obtained sufficient scale and maturity to continue as an independent company.