Jae-hoon Bae, the new leader of the South Korean liner Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM) has visited world largest liner Maersk and its 2M alliance partner MSC for talks regarding joining 2M, according to reports.
Reports circulating indicate that Mr Bae envisions HMM joining the 2M alliance as opposed to being an ‘associate’.
With aims to be a member by 2020, HMM are looking to join the alliance which moves around one third of world trade.
At present, HMM is responsible for roughly 1.8% of the global shipping market.
Such a figure gives it much less room to negotiate with the likes of Maersk and MSC, which command much vaster shares of the global market, as well as key trading lanes.
That said, HMM may offer a strategic dimension being a leading liner in key Asian markets.
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