Nine Dragons: Hong Kong Container Port Ranking Falls to the Bottom of the Global Top Ten List, Competition Intensifies, Short-term Situation May Further Deteriorate.
Chairman of Wharf Holdings, Peter Woo, stated that Hong Kong Container Port has fallen to the bottom ten globally in rankings, with intensifying competition and no short-term improvement in sight, and it may even deteriorate further. He hopes for collaboration between the government and the industry to enhance the competitiveness of Hong Kong Container Port and regain market share. Woo pointed out that Hong Kong Container Port is facing competition pressure from Nansha Port and Shenzhen Port, while the global container shipping industry is in a semi-monopolistic state. In addition, Woo mentioned that Nine Dragons has reduced its stock investments in recent years, but will still selectively invest in stable companies with high dividends.
Chairman and Executive Director of WHARF HOLDINGS (00004.HK), Peter Woo, believes that Hong Kong's container port ranking has fallen to the bottom of the global top ten, with intensified competition in the region. He does not foresee any short-term improvements and even anticipates further deterioration. Woo holds a rather pessimistic view on the container terminal business and hopes that the government can collaborate with the industry to enhance the competitiveness of Hong Kong's container ports and regain market share.
He pointed out that twenty years ago, Hong Kong's port was among the top in the world, with Nansha Port still undeveloped at the time and Shenzhen Port just starting out. However, the latter has since taken on a significant amount of container volume. Additionally, various issues near the Panama and Suez Canals have disrupted shipping routes, causing disruptions in the supply chain. As a result, Hong Kong's status as a container port has suffered more losses than gains.
Woo also mentioned that the global container shipping industry is now in a semi-monopolistic state, with a few large shipping companies holding a significant market share. Furthermore, two to three container shipping companies have announced alliance restructuring and plan to rearrange routes in the future. Currently, they are still striving to have more ships dock in Hong Kong. Woo candidly admitted that Hong Kong is at a disadvantage and hopes that this will not ultimately affect Hong Kong's status as a container port, but rather drive freight growth.
In addition, Peter Woo noted that Wharf's stock investments have gradually decreased in recent years, with the aim of dividend income and potential stock price appreciation. Last year, the group received dividend income of 2.03 billion yuan. The group will continue to selectively invest in stable companies with high dividend yields, without pursuing excessively high dividends from less stable companies.
