Gemadept offloads port in Hai Phong to logistics firm Vietsun

Gemadept Corporation, one of the leading port and logistics firms in Vietnam, has sold its entire stake in Nam Hai Port JSC in Hai Phong city to Nhat Viet JSC, aka Vietsun Lines.

Gemadept cut its holding to zero from 99.98%, the firm said in a statement, without revealing the value of the deal.

Nam Hai Port JSC operates Nam Hai port in the northern coastal city of Hai Phong with a designed capacity of 200,000 TEUs. As the first port invested by Gemadept in northern Vietnam, the port was put into operation in 2009 and serves as an international port and border gate. It also provides a closed service chain ranging from depot to door-to-door multimodal transportation by barge or tractors, along with warehousing, bulk cargo, and customs services.

Gemadept initially held a 30% stake in Nam Hai Port JSC, with a charter capital of VND100 billion ($3.93 million), and raised the figure to 99.98% in 2010.

Established in 2004, HCMC-based Vietsun Lines is a private domestic transport company in Vietnam, operating container ships to transport container goods on the South-North-Central route and vice versa.

According to BSC Equity Research, Gemadept is estimated to have gained a pre-tax profit of VND160 billion ($6.28 million) from the divestment, equivalent to just 9% of the profit it had earned from divesting from Nam Hai-Dinh Vu port due to the less favorable location of Nam Hai port.

Meanwhile, KB Vietnam Securities has estimated a gain of VND200 billion ($7.86 million) for Gemadept.

Gemadept also runs Nam Dinh Vu port and Nam Hai inland container deport (Nam Hai ICD) in the north, and Gemalink container port and Phuoc Long ICD in the south, and Dung Quat port in the central region.

In separate developments, Gemadept is looking for buyers for its rubber plantation project in Cambodia and the Saigon Gem and Gemadept Vientiane properties in order to focus on its core business.

Shares of Gemadept, listed on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange, as GMD, closed up 2.7% at VND80,500 ($3.16) apiece on Wednesday.