NOL tipped to be in the lead

Singapore - Singapore's Neptune Orient Lines (NOL) said after container shipping went up some 10% in August, it has been tipped to be leading the race for the Hapag-Lloyd deal.

NOL said container volumes rose 10% in August due to better demand on the intra-Asia trade and the Asia-Europe and Transpacific backhaul trade routes.

It said the average revenue on each container carried rose 7% to US$3,116 from US$2,910 in the same period a year ago.

NOL is also tipped to be in the lead to acquire TUI's container shipping unit Hapag-Lloyd, Germain dailies Handelsblatt and Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported without citing sources.

According to the reports, the strengthening of the dollar against the euro has buoyed NOL's standing, with the advantage adding up to some US$300 million, Handelsblatt said.

The dailies also said NOL would be able to pay more than the Hamburg group thanks to possible synergies which the group of investors would not be able to realise.