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.