Port operators to gain from trade upswing, says Moody's

Asia's three rated port operators - China Merchants, Hutchison Ports, and PSA International - are set to benefit from an upswing in China's trade as exports appeared to have turned the corner, said credit ratings agency Moody's Investors Service in a weekly report to its clients yesterday.

However, a return to pre-crisis levels of trade remains far off. Moody's said despite China's resilience, it expected only a sluggish recovery in the global economy for 2010. As a result, "global trade would rise slowly and, therefore, benefit Asian port operators to a moderate degree".

"A sustained revival in demand from Western countries would benefit the operations of our three rated Asian port operators," said Elizabeth Allen, Moody's Senior Credit Officer in Hong Kong.