日本三大航運集團將合併集裝箱業務

Japan’s big three shipping conglomerates have outLined plans to set aside one of the country’s most ferocious industrial rivalries amid brutal market conditions to establish a joint venture for their container-shipping businesses.

日本三大航運集團提出計劃，擬擱置該國最激烈的行業競爭之一，爲它們的集裝箱航運業務建立一家合資企業。此舉的背景是嚴峻的市場條件。

Nippon Yusen Kaisha, Mitsui OSK Lines and K Line said that, if approved by regulators, the joint venture would operate the world’s sixth biggest ¬container fleet, with about 7 per cent of global capacity.

日本郵船(Nippon Yusen Kaisha)、商船三井(Mitsui OSK Lines)和川崎汽船(K Line)表示，如果獲得監管機構的批准，合資公司將經營世界第六大集裝箱船隊，約佔全球總運力的7%。

The deal is the latest in a series of mergers involving container-shipping lines, spurred by sluggish trade growth and overcapacity that have served to create some of the worst conditions in the sector’s 60-year history.

這一協議是涉及集裝箱航運業的一系列合併的最新發展，其推動因素是貿易增長乏力和運力過剩，給該行業造成60年曆史上最糟糕的經營條件。

The three-way Japanese joint venture, set to be officially created on July 1 next year, is the industry’s first big deal since Hanjin Shipping, South Korea’s largest container line, in August became the first significant company in the ¬sector to seek bankruptcy protection in 30 years.

此前韓國最大的集裝箱班輪公司韓進海運(Hanjin Shipping)在今年8月成爲30年來業內第一家尋求破產保護的大型公司。將於明年7月1日正式成立的三家日本航運公司的合資企業，是該事件之後該行業第一筆大型合併交易。

The deal comes after Germany’s Hapag-Lloyd in July announced plans to take over United Arab Shipping. Last year, France’s CMA CGM announced it was taking over Singapore’s Neptune Orient Lines, while China Cosco and China Shipping outlined plans to merge.

這筆交易達成之前，德國赫伯羅特(Hapag-Lloyd)今年7月宣佈併購阿拉伯聯合航運公司(United Arab Shipping)。去年法國達飛海運集團(CMA CGM)宣佈併購新加坡東方海皇集團(Neptune Orient Lines)，而中國的中遠(Cosco)和中國海運(China Shipping)介紹了合併計劃。

All the deals have been driven by shipping lines’ efforts to create economies of scale. Analysts said there was little to disguise the defensive nature of the deal.

這些交易的驅動因素都是航運公司努力挖掘規模效益。分析師們表示，沒有什麼可以掩飾這些交易的防禦性質。