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FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2016 Ooredoo to celebrate foreign expenditure tops inward investment iPhone 7 launch Page 39 Page 38 Ailing alters course with split

COPENHAGEN: Rocked by low freight and oil prices, ’s A P Moller-Maersk will split itself up and focus on transport and logis- tics while seeking a way out of energy in a keenly anticipated revamp aimed at reviving its fortunes. The 112-year-old conglom- erate will focus on its core businesses, comprising , APM Terminals, Damco, Svitzer and Maersk Container Industry, while seeking “solutions” for its smaller energy operations. Investors gave the news a cautious welcome, with Maersk shares trading slightly higher yesterday. But some said the $30 billion company had not gone far enough. “It might be one of the most pain-free solutions relative to other scenarios, but they could have gone even further,” Nykredit analyst Ricky Rasmussen said yester- day. The weak market has hit the big lines which have invested heavily in “mega-ships”, largely to operate the main Asia to Europe trade route. Industry sources have questioned whether there is enough work for the biggest container vessels on the high seas at the moment, putting more pressure on profits. “Separating our transport and logistics businesses and our oil and oil related businesses...will enable both to focus on their respective markets. Both face very different underlying fundamen- tals and competitive environments,” Chairman Michael Pram Rasmussen said in a statement. Maersk said it would look for solu- tions for its oil and oil-related businesses, which are to be split from the main company either individually or in combination “in the form of joint-ventures, mergers or listing”. The company gave no details on how far this process had already progressed or whether it was already talking to any possible partners, but said it would be done within 24 months. boss Claus V Hemmingsen will lead Maersk’s energy division through the change and serve as vice CEO of the group, beginning on Oct 1. “...is a small player, so there are many players big enough to take (it) in. Drilling is relatively large, but its competitors are under extreme financial pressure, so it’s less likely to find an sale opportunity there,” Morten Imsgard, an analyst at Denmark’s , said.

CONGLOMERATE DISCOUNT Maersk will hope that by splitting up it can shed any conglomer- ate discount by allowing markets to value its businesses individual- ly. The group, controlled by the Maersk family, was founded in 1904 by A P Moller and was turned into a conglomerate operating in 130 countries by his son, Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller, who had an active role in the company until he died in 2012 aged 98. Sydbank estimates the new transport and logistics division could be worth 174-229 billion Danish crowns ($26-$35 billion), while the energy division could be valued at 74-153 billion Danish crowns ($11-$23 billion). Driven by the container shipping downturn and a slump in oil prices, AP Moller-Maersk group’s chief executive Nils Smedegaard Andersen left in June and Soren Skou, head of Maersk Line, was named group chief executive. — Reuters

LOS ANGELES: Sea lions taking a sun bath on the bulbous bow of a Maersk as containers are seen in the background at the Port of in San Pedro, California. —AFP