Cathay Pacific and its major shareholder Swire Pacific have sold their shares in Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Limited, which is building a new HK$5.5bn (A$865m) state of the art cargo terminal at Hong Kong International Airport.
Cathay owned a 10 per cent stake in the company, which came after the airline’s services division was awarded a franchise in 2008 to invest, design and construct the new cargo terminal. Work on the terminal has recently restarted after it was suspended in January 2009 due to the global financial crisis.
“The new cargo terminal represents a significant investment in Hong Kong and a clear commitment to continuing to develop the city as one of the world’s most important international airfreight hubs,” said Cathay Pacific chairman Christopher Pratt. “The addition of new capacity and more competition will help to stimulate the growth of air cargo services to and from Hong Kong International Airport, which in turn will bring significant economic benefits to our home city.”
Cathay Pacific sold the stake to a number of existing shareholders in the project, with the transaction valued at HK$640m (A$100.6m), which it says will go into the working capital of the company.
