ICTSI moves into China with Yantai terminal deal

ICTSI moves into China with Yantai terminal deal International Container Terminal Services Inc. will enter the Chinese port market after agreeing to purchase 60 percent of Yantai Gangtong Container Terminal Co. Ltd., which manages the Yantai Gangtong Terminal in the Shandong Province. Financial details were not disclosed.
   The Manila, Philippines-based global port operator conducted the deal with SDIC Communication and the Chinese state-owned Yantai Port Group (each retaining 20 percent of the terminal company), through holding company ICTSI (Hong Kong) Ltd.
   The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals, including the approval for the conversion of Gangtong Container Co. into a Sino-foreign joint venture enterprise.
   Located within the Port of Yantai, Gangtong Container Co. operates container berths 38 and 39 of the Yantai Gangtong Terminal, including a 280,000-square-meter container yard and back up area.
   The Port of Yantai, located on the eastern tip of the Shandong Peninsula, bordering the Yellow Sea and Bohai Bay, and serving a local population of 6.5 million, is the 10th largest in China. In 2006, the port handled 1.17 million TEUs, up 68 percent over the 2005 volume.