Rumours of Beijing cooking up a union between the two state-backed companies emerged last week with talks said to be underway between leading executives.
In a report today, DNB Markets said the deal would create a company covering 8% of global liner capacity, compared with the 15.3% held by Maersk Line.
“On a standalone basis, consolidation is positive, but would not have a material impact,” its analysts said.
Nicolay Dyvik, Oyvind Berle and Petter Haugen added: “Overcapacity and freight rate pressure have made most container lines (apart from Maersk) to report break-even or negative results over the past years.
“Alliances, vessel sharing agreements and rate hike announcements have been the newsflow over the past few years.
“Creating fewer and larger companies would be a positive catalyst for Maersk as it would be easier to maintain discipline in a year which we view a 'bridge year' into a healthier container market into 2016 and 2017.”
Cosco is the world’s second largest shipowner and China Shipping number five on the list.
