APM Terminals, the port operations division of AP-Moller Maersk Group, has signalled it will resume investment in Asia after a pause in the wake of the Global Financial Crisis.
The division’s chief operating officer Martin Christiansen, who also heads up the its Asia-Pacific operations, told the China Daily the investment would help the company cater to an increase in intra-Asian cargo flow.
“We are actively looking for investment opportunities in emerging Asian markets such as China, Vietnam, Indonesia,” Christiansen said.
He told the publication China’s growing appetite for imported products and its closer ties to Association of South East Asian (ASEAN) countries, were largely responsible for the trade increase.
While the company was committed to the Chinese market, Christiansen told the publication investment in the area posed challenges in regard to increasing labour and property costs.
A slow down in exports from China was also anticipated, he added.“The growth rate of China’s container volumes in the future is expected to be lower than the past, particularly China’s export volumes to mature markets such as the United States and Europe,” he said.
This slow down could be attributed largely to rising costs there and the appreciation of the yuan, which were undermining the country’s manufacturing sector and making exports less attractive, the newspaper reported.
With exports volumes slowing, while imports continue to grow, Christiansen said the company would reassess its business in China.“The window of opportunity to invest in Chinese ports is closing and there are more and better investment opportunities in other emerging markets, despite the lack of infrastructure in those markets,” he said. “We will focus more on how to facilitate the growing segment of imports into China in the future.”
Despite movement in the industry, Christiansen sees China as a robust market.“China’s vast sourcing manufacturing industry is difficult to replace. We do not see a big risk of a massive sourcing shift out of China in the near future,” Christiansen said.
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