Philippine-based global port operator International Container Terminal Services Incorporated (ICTSI) has signed a joint venture contract with Yantai Port Group Company and SDIC Communication for the purchase of 60 per cent of the Chinese port operator, Yantai Gangtong Container Terminal Company (Gangtong Container Co.) that manages the Yantai Gangtong Terminal in Shandong province.

A company statement explained that the acquisition was made through ICTSI's holding company ICTSI (Hong Kong). The state-owned Yantai Port Group Company and SDIC Communications Company will retain a 20 per cent each in Gangtong Container Co.

The deal is subject to regulatory approvals in China, including the approval for the conversion of the Gangtong Container Co. into a Sino-foreign joint venture enterprise.

Located within the Port of Yantai, Gangtong Container Co. operates container berths 38-39 of the Yantai Gangtong Terminal, including a 280,000-square metre container yard and back up area.

Yantai Port is ranked 10th among all the ports in China. It is also one of the country's pivotal ports, which in 2006 handled 1.16 million TEU, representing a 68.4 per cent growth over the 2005 volume.

The statement said the port lies across the heavy industrial base in the northeast of China, as well as South Korea and Japan and has been experiencing rapid growth in container cargo, ro-ro and passenger traffic.

The Yantai Gangtong Terminal project will be ICTSI's first venture into the Chinese port market, the statement added.