On 24 July 2018, COSCO SHIPPING Holdings Co., Ltd. (“COSCO SHIPPING Holdings”) completed the acquisition of shares from controlling shareholders in the offer to acquire OOIL, which marks the change of OOIL’s controlling shareholder to COSCO SHIPPING Holdings.
The transaction is in line with the development trend of the container shipping industry and further strengthens COSCO SHIPPING Holdings’ position. COSCO SHIPPING Holdings’ subsidiaries, namely, COSCO SHIPPING Lines and OOCL, will complement each other’s advantages and jointly develop to provide global customers with products and services of higher quality. Upon completion of the transaction, the two liner companies will jointly operate 409 shipping routes in all the major markets around the world, with a total capacity of 2.77 million TEUs and a total of about 22,000 employees in 46 countries around the world. The two liner companies are committed to further growth, with 19 vessels ordered and a total capacity of about 330,000 TEUs, the combined capacity will reach 2.93 million TEUs by the end of 2018.
Completion of the transaction marks a new era for COSCO SHIPPING Holdings in operating two liner companies simultaneously. Through managing two liner companies, COSCO SHIPPING Holdings will rank the third in the world as a container shipping company and is determined to become a leading integrated, world-class service provider in the container shipping industry. We will work hard, by implementing the four major strategic initiatives, including the optimization of the global and regional network, digital transformation, end-to-end services enhancement, and a dual brand model, to leverage the advantages of COSCO SHIPPING Lines’ global network and scale and OOCL’s digital transformation and logistics business capabilities to realize new growth.
COSCO SHIPPING Lines and OOCL will continue to operate independently as two brands. Your original contact with either liner company, as well as booking and customer service channels, will remain unchanged. Both liner companies will ensure the continuity of customer services and will continue to honor current commitments and contracts. At the same time, by leveraging the advantages of both brands across their global networks, digital capabilities and logistics footprint, the services that you receive will be enhanced and you will have access to more comprehensive global network support, more differentiated products and services, and more digitalized customer experience. We believe this is the best approach to make progress and reach collective growth with you, and it is also our strong commitment to you.
