China Shipping Terminal Development Co. Ltd is in talks with Malaysia's Port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP) and West Port to buy a stake in either of the companies.

China Shipping Terminal, a unit of state-owned China Shipping Group, the world's sixth-largest container shipping line, is also considering making PTP in the southern state of Johor its container hub for the region.

China Shipping Terminal Managing Director Fang Meng said the group was looking to invest in a container terminal hub in the region following an increase in traffic volume of the group's container line here. "We are now looking at the options available to us and doing a feasibility study on investing in either PTP or West Port," Fang said. Fang said the firm would expect to take at least a 20 per cent stake in whichever port it decides on.

PTP is 70 per cent owned by Malaysian infrastructure firm MMC Corp. and has profited from its favorable location at the southern end of the Malacca Straits, Asia's busiest shipping route.

A.P. Moeller-Maersk, a Danish conglomerate that runs the world's biggest container shipping line, holds the remaining 30 per cent stake in the port.

West Port, located in Port Klang on the west coast of Malaysia's peninsula, is operated by unlisted Kelang Multi Terminal Sdn Bhd.

Source:佚名