Shanghai Daily news

State-owned Shanghai International Port (Group) Co Ltd signed an agreement yesterday with four partners to establish a new joint-stock company - a major step toward restructuring the country's biggest port operator.
The new company, Shanghai International Port (Group) Holdings Co Ltd, was formed with  registered capital of 18.5 billion yuan (US$2.2 billion).
SIPG will serve as the holding company and control a 50 percent stake.
Hong Kong-based China Merchants Holdings (International) Co Ltd will be the second-largest shareholder, holding a 30 percent share with an investment of about 5.5 billion yuan.
The other strategic investors are Shanghai Tongsheng Investment (Group) Co Ltd, Shanghai State-owned Assets Operation Co Ltd and Shanghai Dasheng Assets Operation Co Ltd.
Shanghai Tongsheng, a government-backed entity that's in charge of building the Yangshan Deep Water Port, will own a 19 percent stake.
The remaining 1 percent stake will be evenly split between the state-owned assets trader and its subsidiary, Shanghai Dasheng.
After restructuring, the port operator is also likely to seek a stock market listing.
"We plan to list shares, and may be ready to put the plan into practice by the end of next year," Chen Xueming, a SIPG official, previously told Shanghai Daily.
"Hong Kong is our preference," Chen said.
Analysts said the strong backgrounds of the partners helped them win the joint-stock deal.
"China Merchants is also a large state-backed company. Teaming up with it will facilitate corporate management for SIPG after the new company begins operations," said Wang Hua, an industry analyst with Everbright Securities Co Ltd.