Prized asset: The Baltic Exchange offices are seen in the City of London, Britain. An acquisition of the Baltic, which was founded in 1744, would give China Merchants Group ownership of the industry’s benchmark indices - which could be further commercialised - and greater access to the multi-billion dollar freight derivatives market.— Reuters
LONDON: State-run conglomerate China Merchants Group has made an informal bid to buy London’s Baltic Exchange, becoming the latest contender for the business that has been the hub of the global shipping market for centuries, two sources told Reuters.
The approach was made by the group’s subsidiary China Merchants Securities, according to the sources, who declined to be identified as the matter is not public. “They are the latest (suitor) and certainly, with such a massive group, it shows how this is heating up,” one source said.
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