ICTSI raises stake in Pakistan port operator

MANILA, Philippines - International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) of port tycoon Enrique K. Razon Jr. has raised its stake in the Karachi Port which is operated by Pakistan International Container Terminal Ltd. (PICT).

ICSTI manager for corporate legal affairs Benjamin Gorospe III informed the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) that the port giant raised its interest in PICT to 64.5 percent after recently acquiring 0.12 percent of the total issued capital stock of the foreign port operator.

Gorospe said ICTSI, through wholly-owned ICTSI Mauritius Ltd. bought an additional 130,600 shares of PICT. 

PICT owns and operates a cargo terminal with a maximum handling capacity of 750,000 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) at the Karachi Port in Pakistan.

ICTSI is spending $550 million this year to bankroll its operations abroad particularly in Argentina and Mexico and at the same time expand its presence in the Philippines.

The budget would be used to complete the company’s terminal development projects in Argentina and Mexico as well as to ramp-up construction activities in Colombia as well as in Davao in southern Philippines. 

ICTSI said volume from six key terminal operations in Manila, Brazil, Poland, Ecuador, Madagascar and China rose six percent to 4.109 million TEUs from 3.867 million TEUs and accounted for 73 percent of the company’s consolidated volume last year.

Last month, ICTSI sold 89.999 million shares at P91 per share for a total consideration of P8.19 billion to partly fund its capital expenditures this year.

The company sold 36.889 million common shares from its treasury as well as 53.11 million shares borrowed from Razon at P91 per share.

On the other hand, the company would issue the same number of shares to Razon.

A total of 77 investors participated in the fund raising activity of which about 63 percent came from Asia, 27 percent were from the US, and 10 percent were from Europe.