Yang Ming to buy stake in Chinese logistics company

The nation's largest container shipping company by revenue, Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp (陽明海運), said yesterday that it was planning to buy a stake in a logistics company in China.

Yang Ming wants to buy the 16.67 percent stake in Yangtze River Logistics Co (揚子江物流) from Shanghai-based regional air carrier Yangtze River Express Airlines Co (揚子江快運航空) for 40 million yuan (US$5 million), the company said in a statement filed to the Taiwan Stock Exchange.

The container company might increase its holdings in the logistics company to as much as 49 percent eventually, based on an agreement with Yangtze River Express, Yang Ming senior vice president David Liu (劉吉雄) said.

Liu said he hoped that the nation's largest air carrier, China Airlines Ltd (中華航空), and Taiwanese shipping company Wan Hai Lines Ltd (萬海航運) would also join in the logistics project.

However, spokesmen for China Airlines and Wan Hai said that they had no plans to invest in the company.

"Ground logistics is not a very exciting business, and we've had no talks with Yang Ming on the deal," said Wan Hai vice president of finance John Chen (陳輝中), without elaborating.

Last year, the three Taiwanese companies bought a combined 43 percent stake in Yangtze River Express -- which was previously wholly owned by China's Hainan Airlines Group -- for 537.5 million yuan.

"We have been talking about a logistics venture with Yangtze River Express since we invested last year in that company," Liu said.