Cosco gets preferential tax deal

CHINA Ocean Shipping (Group), or Cosco Group, will benefit from a preferential tax policy as a result of the reorganisation of its listed companies, China's Ministry of Finance and the State Administration of Taxation have announced.

According to the announcement, the group will not be taxed on the appreciated value of its assets, which amounts to CNY220 million (US$27.44 million). The money is to be reinvested as state capital.

China Construction Bank and Bank of China have previously enjoyed a similar preferential policy during their reorganisations, noted a report by the Xinhua News Agency.

The Cosco Group has eight listed subsidiaries: Three in Hong Kong (China Cosco Holdings, Cosco Pacific and Cosco International Holdings), two in Shanghai (Cosco Shipping and Cosco Development), two listed in Shenzhen (CIMC-A and CIMC-B) and one in Singapore (Cosco Corporation).

Also, Cosco celebrated its 45th anniversary in Beijing on April 27.

A Cosco statement said the company began operations with only four vessels with a total capacity of 22,600 tons. The shipping giant now owns a fleet of 640 vessels with a total capacity of 38 million tons.

Cosco's vessels now call at more than 1,300 ports in more than 160 countries and regions around the world. According to the company statement, Cosco is now one of the leading shipping firms in the mainland, and is ranked in the top 10 in the world.