The Chinese shipping company Cosco has acquired shares in Thailand’s largest port, Laem Chabang, from Hutchison Ports.
The group is spending a total of US$110m to buy into two terminals. With the agreement between Cosco and Hutchison Ports, the Chinese state-owned shipping company acquires 12.5% of Thai Laemchabang Terminal (TLT) and 30% of Hutchison Laemchabang Terminal (HLT), the two largest handling berths in the port. The purchase includes berth A2 at TLT and berths A3, C1-C2 and D1-D3 at HLT, with D1-D3 still partly under construction. The plan is to handle 6.7 million TEU per year once the terminals are completed and operational.
Cosco expands trade relations with Thailand
“The acquisition will help to further expand trade and economic relations between China and Thailand,” Cosco Shipping Ports explained in a statement. Laem Chabang is located on the Gulf of Thailand and is one of the 20 largest ports in the world with a total annual throughput of 8.7 million TEU (as of 2022) – just ahead of Hamburg.
Cosco’s only other port investment in Southeast Asia is the PSA terminal in Singapore. The world’s fourth-largest container shipping company is also active in Hamburg: since June 2023, it has held a minority stake (24.99% of the shares) in Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG’s Container Terminal Tollerort (CTT).
