Interim Report 2023

Management Discussion and Analysis 10 CHINA MERCHANTS PORT HOLDINGS COMPANY LIMITED South-East region of Mainland China Container business of foreign trade was weaker than that of domestic trade, and bulk cargoes business experienced staged opportunities. Shantou China Merchants Port Group Co., Ltd. handled a container throughput of 0.73 million TEUs, down by 2.6% year-on-year, mainly due to reduced container throughput of foreign trade; and handled a bulk cargo volume of 2.54 million tonnes, up by 67.9% year-on- year, which was mainly benefitted from the increase in the import of foreign trading coal. Owing to the business growth brought about by further tapping into laden containers resources of domestic trade in hinterland and newly added shipping routes, Zhangzhou China Merchants Port Co., Ltd. located in the Xiamen Bay Economic Zone handled a container throughput of 0.16 million TEUs, increased by 16.9% year-on-year, while its bulk cargo volume increased by 1.2% year-on-year to 4.45 million tonnes. Xia Men Bay China Merchants Terminals Co., Ltd. handled a bulk cargo volume of 2.81 million tonnes, down by 12.6% year-on-year, which was affected by the decrease in market demand of the principal sandstone business.