China pushing for ‘early implementation’ of RCEP trade deal in January
15 Asia-Pacific economies, including China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, and 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), formed the world’s largest free trade bloc, covering nearly a third of the global population and about 30 per cent of its global gross domestic product
Recommend BUY with raised TP of US$0.32 after HPH Trust (HPHT) smashed our FY20 earnings and dividend forecasts. 2H20 earnings more than doubled y-o-y to help HPHT post a 57% y-o-y increase in FY20 net profit to HK$831m on lower interest costs, greater cost efficiencies and government support. FY20 DPU of 12 HKcts was 33% above our forecast.
This higher level of profitability is sustainable. We expect FY21F earnings to be flat from FY20 due to much lower government support offset by some improvement in throughput volumes. That said, the majority of the improvements seen in FY20 should be sustainable as they stem from greater cost efficiencies as well as lower finance costs, especially with interest rates expected to remain low in FY21.
Huge room to raise dividends beyond FY21. While HPHT is likely to maintain a DPU of 12 HKcts for FY21F with a flattish earnings outlook, we believe there is room for DPU to be raised as the Trust’s gearing is now substantially lower than a few years ago. Even if earnings stay flat, this is a higher level of core profitability than in FY18 when DPU was 17 HKcts, and when the debt repayment programme was already ongoing.
In March, major Chinese coastal hub ports’ cargo throughput increased 10.9% comparing with the same period of last year. Container volume at eight major ports increased 14.5%.
According to the statistics released by China Ports and Harbors Association, export container volume increased 8.7% while the domestic volume increased 18% in late March. Among which, the port of Ningbo-Zhoushan and Shenzhen posted a growth rate of over 30%.
Demand recovery boosts China Merchants Port’s earnings
State-owned port giant has more than tripled its net profits for the first quarter of 2021, with a steady growth in port throughput and recovery in international trade
April 17 (Xinhua) -- China's major ports reported container throughput growth in early April, data from an industrial association showed.
From April 1 to 10, container throughput at China's eight key ports increased 14.2 percent year on year, according to the China Ports and Harbours Association.
Specifically, the container throughput for foreign trade rose 15.6 percent from a year earlier during the same period. The foreign trade growth rate at Shenzhen and Xiamen ports exceeded 30 percent, said the association.
The boom in container throughput for foreign trade came amid the rapid expansion in China's exports, with its exports surging 38.7 percent year on year in the first quarter of this yea
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