Neptune Orient Lines Limited (NOL) was a Singaporean
container shipping
Containerization is a system of intermodal freight transport using intermodal containers (also called shipping containers and ISO containers). Containerization is also referred as "Container Stuffing" or "Container Loading", which is the p ...
company. It was founded in 1968 as Singapore's national
shipping line
A shipping line or shipping company is a company whose line of business is ownership and operation of ships.
Shipping companies provide a method of distinguishing ships by different kinds of cargo:
# Bulk cargo is a type of special cargo that i ...
, but was later sold as a subsidiary to French shipping company
CMA CGM
CMA CGM S.A. is a French container transportation and shipping company. It is the world’s 3rd largest container shipping company, using 257 shipping routes between 420 ports in 160 countries. Its headquarters are in Marseille, France The name ...
in 2016.
On 1 October 2020, NOL was
restructured
Restructuring is the corporate management term for the act of reorganizing the legal, ownership, operational, or other structures of a company for the purpose of making it more profitable, or better organized for its present needs. Other reasons ...
into a regional hub and was renamed to CMA CGM Asia Pacific Limited.
History
In December 1968, Neptune Orient Lines was started as Singapore's national shipping line. Wholly owned by the Singapore Government, it was formed in an effort to develop and support Singapore's economy.
Containerization
In the 1970s,
containerization
Containerization is a system of intermodal freight transport using intermodal containers (also called shipping containers and ISO containers). Containerization is also referred as "Container Stuffing" or "Container Loading", which is the p ...
was introduced. In the mid-1970s, NOL's managing director was
Goh Chok Tong
Goh Chok Tong (; born 20 May 1941) is a Singaporean former politician who served as Prime Minister of Singapore between 1990 and 2004, and Secretary-General of the People's Action Party between 1992 and 2004. He was the Member of Parliament (M ...
, who went on to become Singapore's second Prime Minister.
In 1975, NOL then entered the Asia-Europe trade as part of the ACE Group consortium with partners
OOCL
Orient Overseas Container Line, commonly known as OOCL, is a container shipping and logistics service company with headquarters in Hong Kong. The company is incorporated in Hong Kong as Orient Overseas Container Line Limited and separately inc ...
,
K Line
is a Japanese transportation company. It owns a fleet that includes dry cargo ships (bulk carriers), container ships, liquefied natural gas carriers, Ro-Ro ships, tankers, and container terminals. It used to be the fourteenth largest contai ...
,
COSCO
China Ocean Shipping Company, Limited, formerly China Ocean Shipping (Group) Company, commonly known for its abbreviated name COSCO Group, or simply, COSCO, is a former Chinese Government owned shipping and logistics services supplier compan ...
and
Franco-Belgian Services, known as the "third force" in the container-shipping world.
Meanwhile, it entered the key Trans-Pacific Trade with a standalone service.
Merger with APL
In 1997, NOL made a US$825 million acquisition of
American President Lines
APL, formerly called American President Lines Ltd., is an American container shipping company that is a subsidiary of French shipping company CMA CGM. It operates an all-container ship fleet, including 9 U.S. flagged container vessels.
In 1938, ...
(APL), whose heritage dates back to 1848.
Following the merger, the APL name was adopted as the public brand name. The NOL name was retained for the
holding company
A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own shares of other companies ...
, which was listed on the
Singapore Exchange
The Singapore Exchange Limited (SGX) is a Singaporean investment holding company that provides different services related to securities and derivatives trading and others. SGX is also a member of the World Federation of Exchanges and the Asian ...
and was well known to its investors. The company focused on managing global supply chains in 2001 when
APL Logistics was established as a separate business unit.
In 1998, during the
Asian economic crisis
The Asian financial crisis was a period of financial crisis that gripped much of East Asia and Southeast Asia beginning in July 1997 and raised fears of a worldwide economic meltdown due to financial contagion. However, the recovery in 1998–1 ...
, NOL saw losses mount to US$460 million, while its debt was more than US$4 billion. The company sold off assets to clear the debt and by 1999 was profitable again.
In 2003, NOL completed the divestment of its tankering businesses AET and NAS, to concentrate on the company's core container shipping and logistics services.
On 1 October 2011,
Ng Yat Chung
Ng Yat Chung is a Singaporean former lieutenant-general who served as Chief of Defence Force between 2003 and 2007.
Education
Ng received his secondary and pre-university education in Victoria School and Hwa Chong Junior College respectiv ...
was appointed as CEO of NOL, replacing Ron Widdows.
On 17 February 2015, APL Logistics was sold to
Kintetsu World Express
, or KWE, is a major Japanese freight forwarding company. It is a subsidiary of the Japanese railway holding company Kintetsu Group Holdings (''近鉄グループホールディングス株式会社 Kintetsu gurūpu hōrudeingusu kabushiki gaish ...
, Inc. for US$1.2 billion.
Sale of NOL to France's CMA CGM
On 9 June 2016, it was announced that Temasek will tender its NOL shares to shipping company
CMA CGM
CMA CGM S.A. is a French container transportation and shipping company. It is the world’s 3rd largest container shipping company, using 257 shipping routes between 420 ports in 160 countries. Its headquarters are in Marseille, France The name ...
. CMA launched an all-cash voluntary conditional general offer for outstanding NOL shares at SG$1.30 a piece. The deal is worth SG$3.38 billion and eventually will be delisted from the Singapore Exchange.
The company announced in May 2016 reported net losses of US$105.1 million (SG$142 million) for the first quarter ended 31 March, higher than the US$10.8 million a year earlier. Former CEO
Ng Yat Chung
Ng Yat Chung is a Singaporean former lieutenant-general who served as Chief of Defence Force between 2003 and 2007.
Education
Ng received his secondary and pre-university education in Victoria School and Hwa Chong Junior College respectiv ...
acknowledged that the company had been "a bit slow and reluctant to change".
On 28 June 2016, CMA CGM said it will proceed to delist NOL, after it crossed the 90 per cent ownership threshold in the company and NOL was subsequently delisted on 5 September 2016.
In May 2017, less than a year after the NOL acquisition, CMA reported turning a net profit of $26 million from the NOL business in the first quarter of the year.
Restructuring to CMA CGM Asia Pacific Limited
On 7 July 2020, CMA CGM announced a
restructuring
Restructuring is the corporate management term for the act of reorganizing the legal, ownership, operational, or other structures of a company for the purpose of making it more profitable, or better organized for its present needs. Other reasons ...
of its services in the
Asia-Pacific region.
NOL and CMA's regional office was reorganized into a regional hub and renamed to CMA CGM Asia Pacific Limited on 1 October 2020.
References
See also
*
List of largest container shipping companies
Several shipping lines are involved in intermodal freight transport as part of international trade.
List of largest container shipping companies
This is a list of the 30 largest container shipping companies as of 11 August 2022, according to '' ...
{{authority control
1968 establishments in Singapore
Transport companies established in 1968
Government-owned companies of Singapore
Shipping companies of Singapore
Singaporean companies established in 1968
Temasek Holdings
Transport operators of Singapore
Singaporean brands
Companies formerly listed on the Singapore Exchange
2016 mergers and acquisitions
Multinational companies headquartered in Singapore
Container shipping companies