China has officially launched China Cosco Shipping Corporation (Coscocs), the merger of leading shipping companies Cosco and China Ocean Shipping.
The merger comes as the global shipping industry faces one of its longest downturns since 2008, according to Coscocs chairman Xu Lirong, who spoke at the company launch in Shanghai on 18 February, reports Reuters.
'The merger is crucial to the development of both companies,' said Xu, adding that Coscocs had told staff there would be no layoffs or salary cuts following the merger.
Coscocs employs 180,000 workers, and will operate 830 vessels, including container ships, dry bulk vessels and tankers, placing it in the top four container shipping companies globally, which includes Maersk, Mediterranean Shipping Company and CMA CGM.
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