S. Korea's HMM sets up JV to operate terminal in Singapore

HMM Co. has signed a joint venture deal with Singapore port operator PSA International to set up a terminal.

HMM, South Korea's biggest shipping company by sales, will have a 42 percent stake in the HMM-PSA Singapore Terminal while the rest will be held by PSA International.

Currently, HMM has seven terminals -- one in South Korea and two each in Europe, the United States, and Taiwan.

Adding a terminal in Singapore, the world's busiest container transshipment hub, would be very vital for HMM in meeting robust demand.

HMM last month deployed one of its 4,600 twenty-foot equivalent unit container vessels for the Southeast Asian route.

North America remains HMM's biggest revenue source, responsible for 35.5 percent of its first-half revenue.

Asia, including the Middle East and India, accounted for 25.3 percent, while 15.7 percent came from Europe.

HMM returned to profitability in the second quarter, after 21 quarters, due to improved efficiency brought by the deployment of a 24,000-TEU super-large container vessel.