Shanghai International Port Group (SIPG) is planning to sell a 20% in Shanghai Mingdong Container Terminal via a public tender on the Shanghai United Assets and Equity Exchange.

SIPG currently holds a 50% equity interest in Shanghai Mingdong with Hutchison Port Holdings owning the other half. Shanghai Mingdong's profits hit US$101 million on revenue of US$276 million last year.

The terminal is equipped with the most up-to-date technologies and facilities, including tandem-lift quay cranes which are capable of lifting two forty-foot containers simultaneously. It specialises in the shipment of international container cargo from East China and the Yangtze River Delta.

The sale price of the 20% stake is yet to be determined but an asset evaluation is underway, SIPG said in a filing to the Shanghai Stock Exchange

The firm added that the disposal of the stake in Shanghai Mingding is expected to meet the requirements of SIPG's strategic development and enhance the group's overall business interest.

In October 2004, SIPG and Hutchison Ports Waigaoqiao Ltd. entered into a joint-venture agreement to invest in a container terminal at Shanghai Waigaoqiao Phase V, forming Shanghai Mingdong Container Terminals Ltd. The terminal had a registered capital of $482 million.

In the first half of this year, Shanghai handled 17.24 million TEU, a 5% increase year-on-year. Solid exports from China and increasing foreign trade have pushed up the throughput figures at China's major ports.