APM Terminals has confirmed plans to shift its Asia headquarters out of Hong Kong to Singapore over the coming months.
A company spokeswoman told TradeWinds that the AP Moller-Maersk terminal arm has “growth aspirations” in Asia.
“APM Terminals has maintained a small regional office in Hong Kong, but in addition deploys staff in its regional management team at a number of locations to optimally manage the business across Asia,” she said.
“We believe Singapore is the logical base to anchor our regional management going forward, to most effectively cover our customer base and key stakeholders across the region.”
APM Terminals said it was currently “talking individually with colleagues who are impacted by this change in order to find the best solution facilitating the transfer”.
Hong Kong’s status as a major hub for both shipping and trading has come into question in recent years due to China’s imposition of a new security law.
Analysts say the harsh manner in which Beijing has dealt with Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement could jeopardise the city’s status as one of the world’s trading hubs.
Last year, Hong Kong fell from second to fourth place on a key ranking of international shipping centres compiled by the Baltic Exchange and Chinese state news agency Xinhua.
News of the change of headquarters came as the company announced a new head of its Asia region effective from the end of August.
Jonathan Goldner, currently APM Terminals chief commercial officer, will take over the role from Tim Smith who is set to retire.
Smith has been with APM Terminals in Asia since 2018 and prior to that with AP Moller – Maersk in Asia since 2005 in various senior leadership roles, most notably as regional director for north Asia for Maersk Line and chairman of Maersk China.
In his current role with APM Terminals, Smith was said to be “instrumental” in putting the Asia region on the path to profitable growth, not least by supervising important infrastructure investments, such as the expansion project in Yokohama, Japan.
“His experience was also a valuable asset in establishing long-standing relationships with the company’s joint venture partners and government officials, facilitating fruitful cooperation with all stakeholders across geographies,” APM Terminals said.
Goldner has been with Maersk for more than 24 years and has held leadership positions in the US and China, including as MD of APM Terminals Tacoma and general manager of East China for logistics at Maersk.
“I am thrilled with this new opportunity and look forward to working closely with our teams across Asia, which is a key region for APM Terminals,” said Goldner.
“Both our own terminals, as well as facilities where we are joint venture partners play a key role in Asian and global supply chains and I look forward to growing our business further in this exciting geography together with our customers and partners.”
APM Terminals has 74 terminals worldwide, some of which are operated with joint venture partners.
