Container shipper Wan Hai Lines Ltd (萬海航運) plans to join forces with four foreign counterparts to launch a cargo route between eastern China and India, the company said yesterday.
The route is to launch next month in coordination with Chinese company China Cosco Shipping Corp (中國遠洋海運集團), Japan-founded Interasia Lines Ltd, Hong Kong’s Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL, 東方海外貨櫃航運) and X-Press Feeders Group of Singapore, Wan Hai said in a statement.
The five companies are upbeat about India’s robust economy, which has over the past two years been growing at a steady 7 percent to 8 percent to replace the UK as the sixth-largest economy in the world, Wan Hai said.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been pushing various initiatives such as “Make in India,” “Digital India” and “‘Green’ India” in a bid to sustain momentum, Wan Hai said.
The UN forecasts that India’s population is to reach 1.65 billion by 2050, Wan Hai said, adding that such a huge population is expected to deliver more economic benefits to foreign investors.
The new route is expected to help many Taiwanese firms operating overseas benefit from India’s growth potential, Wan Hai added.
Starting on Jan. 23, the five partners are to provide a once-weekly service, coded route CI3, starting from Shanghai and stopping at Ningbo, Zhejiang; Hong Kong; Shekou, Guangdong; Singapore; Port Klang, Malaysia; Chennai and Kattupalli, India, Wan Hai said.
Each round trip is to take 35 days, with five 4,250 twenty-foot equivalent unit vessels, Wan Hai said.
Wan Hai is to provide two vessels for the service, China Cosco and Interasia are to provide one each and OOCL and X-Press are to provide the fifth.
With a fleet of 90 vessels, Wan Hai has 10 cargo routes to and from India. The CI3 route is expected to broaden the company’s network, allowing it to offer better service to customers in eastern China, Singapore, Malaysia and India.
Despite the announcement, Wan Hai shares yesterday fell 2.82 percent to close at NT$18.95 on the Taiwan Stock Exchange in line with a decline of 0.96 percent on the weighted index.
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