State-owned Singapore port operator PSA International Pte Ltd does not favour an immediate stock market listing but sees an initial public offering within the next two to three years, its chief executive said. "My personal opinion is we should postpone and grow the group for a little bit longer," PSA chief Eddie Teh said on CNBC on Friday, according to a transcript of the interview.
Teh's comments come amidst concern by investment analysts that time is running out for PSA to capitalise on the shipping market boom and list, as competition from Chinese ports hots up and as the market is expected to peak this year.
The PSA CEO said a listing could come within the next two to three years, but acknowledged concerns about an impending downturn in the shipping sector.
"So we have to wait and see," he said, adding that a final decision would have to be taken by PSA's board and its owners.
PSA, owned by government investment agency Temasek Holdings Pte. Ltd, runs the world's largest trans-shipment hub at its flagship Singapore port, and is looking to expand.
It has recently spent close to $1 billion to buy a stake in a Hong Kong container terminal from rival Hutchison Whampoa. Temasek shelved plans to float up to a quarter of PSA three years ago, after it had hired investment banks, saying it wanted to wait for more favourable market conditions.
Analysts estimate a listed PSA could have a market value of at least S$8 billion to S$10 billion ($4.8 billion to $6 billion), or around 10 to 11 times 2004 earnings.
In the first six months of this year, PSA moved 6.64 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) at its foreign ports, 8.7 percent more than a year ago.
It has investments in ports in Belgium, Brunei, China, Hong Kong, India, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Portugal, South Korea and Thailand.