Global Ports Holding is the Winner of the Port of Bar Tender held by the Montenegro Port Authority

Global Ports Holdings (the Company or GPH) has, through privatization, acquired the unlisted 62% share of the Port of Bar. This is the first time a Turkish company acquires the majority ownership of a port operation overseas, as has been indicated by Saygın Narin, the CEO of GPH.

GPH, the only operator of three leading commercial and cruise ports in Turkey, has been awarded the concession agreement for 30 years to repair, finance, operate and maintain the general freight and cargo terminal in the city of Bar, Montenegro as the winner of the tender held jointly by the Montenegro Ministry of Transport&Maritime and the Montenegro Port Authority. In a ceremony held on the Bar Port on November 15th 2013, a Turkish company for the first time acquired a majority stake in an international port.

GPH brought 62% of the Port of Bar into its portfolio for a total cost of c. Euro30mn. The acquisition is the first investment of GPH abroad as well as being the first ever Turkish acquisition of a controlling stake in an overseas port operation.

Aims to expand abroad

Mr. Narin indicated that the shipping industry entered a new era with the addition of the Bar Port into the GPH portfolio. He also added that GPH, having focused on organic growth and consolidation of its existing ports for the past three years, was now ready to press the button to become one of the leading commercial port operators regionally and the number one cruise operator globally with a total passenger traffic of 3.5mn.

Narin said “We have been targeting organic growth till now while revamping efficiency, systems and marketing processes in our Turkish ports. Having also successfully integrated our three ports, we are currently focusing on inorganic growth. We aim to add new ports, domestic and international into our portfolio. In that vein, we acquired 62% of the Port of Bar and more acquisitions are on the way.

The truck traffic will shift to Bar

Narin underlined that the Port of Bar had a throughput of 35.000-40.000 containers in an area of 400.000-450.000sqmt yet it could expand up to 1mn containers as a result of some infrastructure works to be carried.

Narin continued: “We aim to direct the Serbian traffic back to the port to increase utilization. There is a railway to the port which is not very active, we will utilize this railway more actively. Also, the Port of Bar will be able to serve the European countries in the vicinity. Of course, I should add that some portion of the truck traffic from Turkey to Europe and from Europe to Turkey will shift to the Bar Port. Additionally, the Port has very large warehouses; we aim to build a logistics center around these. Finally, the Port has a potential to become a new route for the cruise ships. Therefore, we plan to build a cruise pier in the Port. We will contribute to the economy of the country with the cruise pier as well.”

www.globalyatirim.com.tr
http://www.globalports.com.tr

Further Information
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About GIH

Global Yatırım Holding A.Ş. (Global Investment Holdings) was regrouped as a holding company in October 2004 (www.globalyatirim.com.tr) to hold a diversified portfolio of investments in a number of businesses, including infrastructure, real estate, energy, and financial services. Global Investment Holdings is listed on Borsa Istanbul (as GLYHO.IS) and utilizes its experience in the finance sector for industrial business opportunities.

About GPH
Global Ports Holding (Global Port) was established to utilize commercial and cruise port opportunities in Turkey and the Mediterranean area. Global Ports is a unique port group and operator in Turkey, currently managing three leading cruise and commercial ports. Since 2003, the Global Ports has developed a portfolio of strategically located ports in Turkey, each providing exceptional hinterland access with strong market demand fundamentals. Global Port is also the largest port operator with 50% of the Turkish cruise port market on the basis of number of cruise passengers received in 2012.

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