SHENZHEN, Mar. 20 (Xinhua) -- Shareholders of China Merchants Port Holdings Company Limited (CMPort) agreed at a meeting on Monday to buy a 50 percent share of the Port of Newcastle in a move to expand to Australia.
The purchase of the Port of Newcastle, the largest port on Australia's east coast and world's largest coal export port, will cost 607.5 million Australian dollars (468 million U.S. dollars), according to the shareholders' meeting.
CMPort said adding Newcastle to its portfolio of global ports would create potential synergies and bring long-term financial returns for the company.
CMPort is a Chinese port developer, investor and operator with a total throughput of 100 million TEU in 2017. It has a port network portfolio spanning 5 continents, 17 countries and regions and 32 ports.