Yang Ming Marine Transport plans to raise up to TWD 6bn ($193m) via bond sales for debt repayments, according to the Taiwanese container line.
Taiwan-listed Yang Ming said the five-year guaranteed notes would be sold to domestic investors with further details to be announced later.
“The funds will be used to repay loans and maturing bonds,” Yang Ming said.
Total current liabilities of Yang Ming amounted to TWD 54.3bn as of end-March, including TWD 9.47bn short-term notes and bills payable.
Yang Ming, one of the world’s top 10 container lines by shipping capacity, has managed to improve operational performance lately in spite of volatile market conditions.
Revenue of the company increased 13% year-on-year to TWD 35.1bn in January-March, while net losses narrowed to TWD 680m from TWD 19.5bn.
“We expect [freight] rates to stay volatile on muted demand and continued capacity additions,” said Bloomberg Intelligence, citing market worries amid the escalating US-China trade war.
“Carriers need rates to stay strong, as weak spot rates could pose serious obstacles to profitability ahead of the upcoming peak shipping season.”
Separately, Yang Ming said it would form a subsidiary in Indonesia to harness demand growth in Southeast Asia’s largest economy.
“Given its strategic location and great potential volume growth, Yang Ming has upgraded its Indonesian service network by deploying larger vessels and increasing service frequencies,” according to a company statement.
The company operates six services to and from Indonesia.
