Excerpts from Supply Chain Dive:
COSCO Shipping is considering selling OOCL’s terminal in Long Beach in order to clear the ocean liner deal, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The sale would be a divestment to appease the U.S. Committee on Foreign Investment, which has expressed concerns over a Chinese state-owned enterprise taking control of one of the country’s most important container terminals.Neither COSCO nor U.S. regulators have confirmed the action, but shipping line executives have said they expect to complete the OOCL takeover by June, and U.S. concerns are posing a challenge.
China is spending up to $8 trillion to create a modern silk road — deemed “One Belt, One Road” — that will revolutionize trade in at least 65 countries. The U.S., it seems, is finally catching on and doing what it can to stop China from exerting too much power in the country.
COSCO has additional terminals in Long Beach, Los Angeles and Seattle, although these are not being considered for divestment, according to the Journal.
The next question is: who would buy the Long Beach terminal, if COSCO/OOCL does sell?