China blocks planned shipping alliance on competition concerns
Print Edition
CHINA said yesterday that it was blocking a proposed tie-up among global shipping giants on competition concerns.
Denmark’s AP Moeller-Maersk, France’s CMA CGM and the Swiss MSC Mediterranean Shipping Co — the world’s three biggest ocean carriers — unveiled plans for their so-called P3 Network in June last year.
The aim was to use a combined fleet to cut costs on Asia-Europe, trans-Atlantic and trans-Pacific routes.
But China’s commerce ministry said in a statement that it had decided to prohibit the alliance after conducting an antitrust assessment.
The ministry said the alliance, had it gone ahead, would “have a far-reaching impact on the global shipping industry and cause a high level of concern in all sectors.”
It added that the alliance would increase the parties’ “combined capacity in container shipping on Asia-Europe routes” and give them a “substantial increase in market concentration.”
In response to China’s decision, the companies said they were giving up the plan.
“Today, the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China announced that they have not approved the P3 Network,” Maersk said in a statement.
“Subsequently, the partners have agreed to stop the preparatory work on the P3 Network and the P3 Network as initially planned will not come into existence,” it added.
The decision was not expected to impact the group’s annual results, said Maersk.
“The decision does come as a surprise to us, of course, as the partners have worked hard to address all the regulators’ concerns,” CEO Nils S. Andersen said.
The alliance had already been approved by regulators in Europe and the US and would have enabled Maersk to reduce costs and carbon emissions.
Andersen said he was “quite confident Maersk Line will accomplish those improvements anyway.”
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
