Shipping

China veto is wake-up call for world’s dealmakers

17 Jun 2014

Beijing’s antitrust enforcer has sunk its first overseas transaction, killing a Maersk-led container-shipping alliance. The national interest in protecting local outfits made this tie-up especially vulnerable. But there’s a real risk China could torpedo other global deals.

China’s vanishing metals corrode confidence

12 Jun 2014

Traders may have pledged copper or aluminium as collateral for multiple loans. Lenders can’t always spot such behaviour, and may have reasons not to complain too much or pull back too quickly. But metal-related antics are another sign of the weakness in China’s financing chains.

Joke’s on lenders in $2.6 bln Batista payback plan

19 May 2014

The fallen Brazilian billionaire wants investors in his bankrupt shipbuilder, OSX, to wait until 2040 for full payment and proposes an $11,000 installment after a year. To think he once boasted that his assets were “idiot proof.” His chutzpah now threatens OSX’s reorganization.

China’s shipbuilding supertanker will turn slowly

5 Jul 2013

Rongsheng, the biggest private shipbuilder, is on financial life support. An industry that once symbolised growing economic strength is now a drag. But don’t bet on a shakeout. In China, strategic sectors can stay afloat long after their apparent financial logic has run dry.

Norway triumphs over tycoon in strange M&A saga

21 Jun 2013

Shipping mogul John Fredriksen wanted to combine his seafood group, Marine Harvest, with smaller rival Cermaq. But Norway thwarted the $1.7 bln hostile bid. Consolidating key national industries is always tricky. Doubly so if you’re up against one of the world’s richest states.

More geopolitics than shipping in Nicaraguan canal

19 Jun 2013

A controversial $40 bln project to rival Panama’s passage doesn’t seem to make financial sense. But if its Chinese sponsor is any kind of proxy for Beijing, the idea of one day balancing U.S. influence in Central America isn’t far-fetched. And for that, the price could be right.

Hong Kong dockers’ pay sets tone for future strife

7 May 2013

Port workers have ended a month-long strike and accepted a 9.8 pct pay rise - half their original demand. Yet the conflict highlighted Hong Kong’s growing inequality and rising living costs. As China’s economy slows and shifts, dockers and employers will be increasingly at odds.

China export mystery fuels statistical scepticism

10 Apr 2013

Exports to Hong Kong jumped a staggering 93 percent in March, even as trade with the developed world fell. What’s going on? Companies may be disguising capital flows as trade. But however the aberration is explained, it provides another reason to mistrust official data.

Vietnam floats a lifeboat for foreign creditors

8 Feb 2013

The government has helped end a two-year standoff between bankrupt shipbuilder Vinashin and overseas lenders by guaranteeing a new $620 million bond. That will aid the country’s capital market rehabilitation. But the victims of other shipwrecks shouldn’t count on similar rescues.

Titanic’s century-old metaphor misses the point

11 Apr 2012

The famous 1912 sinking tells us something eternal. Life, even the most privileged, is like an ocean voyage, and then the ship goes down and you die. It also seems like a warning against modern hubris. But an iceberg couldn’t stop the spread of ever more advanced technologies.

Brazilian billionaire buys time from Gulf

26 Mar 2012

Eike Batista may be the richest man in Latin America’s biggest economy, but he runs a cash-hungry empire. His sprawling oil and mining group is in its infancy. The $2 bln infusion of patient Abu Dhabi money should help Batista try to make good on his promise.

Activists land rare European win with TNT

19 Mar 2012

The Dutch courier’s $6.8 bln sale to UPS is a rare victory for activist investors after a lean patch in Europe. They are likely to score again with the $2 bln buyout of Britain’s Misys. Corporate stragglers: beware. Results like these will embolden troublemakers.

UPS could be bidding against itself for TNT

22 Feb 2012

The huge available synergies mean the $73 bln U.S. parcel giant could sweeten its takeover offer for its Dutch rival. TNT shareholders are for now expecting at least 9 pct more. But with rivals FedEx and DHL inhibited in varying ways, they may not get the bidding war they’d like.

World not ending – except maybe for shipping

6 Feb 2012

The Baltic Dry Index was a good crisis indicator in 2008. The measure of cargo ship rental costs just fell below the last-crisis low. End of the world? Probably not. World trade, well above pre-crisis peaks, is growing, albeit slowly. There’s just too much capacity on the seas.

Global Ports breaks Russian IPOs pricing curse

30 Jun 2011

Investor scepticism over greedy valuations has forced Russian issues to be pulled or sent shares tanking. But the strong showing of Global Ports up 18 percent on the day of its London debut suggests issuers may begin to understand the need for an attractive discount.

China’s truckers sound bum note on reforms

26 Apr 2011

Sure, fuel price hikes and high fees penalise the truck drivers who staged last week's strikes. But pricier petrol is essential for a more balanced, less polluted China. If the authorities are too wary of upsetting vested interests, necessary reforms will be stifled.

China may spur growth with Panama Canal rail idea

14 Feb 2011

A railroad across Colombia, carrying coal westward and Chinese semimanufactured goods eastward, looks plausible. Colombia's infrastructure shortage is a major barrier to growth; efficient and rapid Chinese help in providing it could have a huge multiplier effect.

Hutchison spin-off creates nice strategic problem

20 Jan 2011

There's financial logic in the Hong Kong conglomerate's plan to list some of its port operations. The tougher question is what to do with the proceeds. Investors have been pushing for Hutchison to up dividends. But repaying debt and investing in growth looks the wiser course.

Singapore lands one on HK in $6 bln Hutchison IPO

18 Jan 2011

Hong Kong conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa is to take advantage of Singapore's taxefficient trust law to list its port operations there. The deal is payback for the city state's longstanding efforts to be a competitive financial centre. For Hong Kong, it's a wakeup call.

Richest Brazilian reaps $3.5 bln from IPO stumble

19 Mar 2010

Eike Batista s reputation for a golden touch has suffered from slashing the sale of OSX shares. Even so, the shipbuilder raised $1.6 bln, and the billionaire s investment has multiplied 100fold on paper. OSX s new shareholders are betting there s more upside to come.