PSA controls Belgian firm

PSA controls Belgian firm

SINGAPORE (AP): Singapore's seaport operator PSA Corporation is pushing into northern Europe's shipping business by buying a majority stake in a Belgian port company.

PSA will buy "at least 51 percent" of Belgium's Hesse Noord Natie, a company valued at up to 650 million euros (US$606 million), PSA said Friday in a statement.

The exact stake PSA will take was still under negotiation, PSA spokeswoman Denise Gan said.

Singapore, located on vital sea lanes between the Pacific and Indian Oceans, is generally considered the world's busiest seaport. PSA in recent years has aggressively expanded its presence in international shipping, taking stakes in port operations from Asia to Italy and Portugal.

Hesse Noord Natie is currently being formed by the merger of Belgian port companies Noord Natie and Hessenatie, a wholly owned subsidiary of Companie Maritime Belge.

PSA and the Belgian companies signed an agreement for the deal on Thursday in Antwerp, Belgium, the PSA statement said.

The new enterprise that includes PSA will operate 22 shipping terminals in the Belgian cities of Antwerp and Zeebrugge, PSA said.