DUBAI: Port operator DP World said Monday business at its cargo terminals rose 14 percent in the third quarter, reflecting a pick-up in global trade as the world economy shows signs of recovery. The strongest gains came at ports the company manages in Asia, the Americas and Australia. The Dubai-based firm is the world's fourth-largest seaport operator, with a strong focus on the developing world. It said it handled the equivalent of 13 million 20-foot shipping containers between July and September, up from 11.4 million in the same period a year ago. Chief Executive Mohammed Sharaf described the volume of cargo containers as "back in line with 2008 peak levels." The company said there are indications that business is also returning in Europe and its home market in the United Arab Emirates, which accounted for 3 million standard containers. The quarterly gains also reflected the addition of new ports in Peru and Vietnam. DP World has operations at 50 cargo terminals on six continents, including the Mideast's largest in Dubai. While it is anticipating a slowdown in non-container shipments such as bulk goods, Sharaf said overall growth in the second half is likely to be stronger than in the first half of the year. The company reported in July that it moved the equivalent of 23.7 million containers in the first half, a 16 percent increase on the previous year. DP World is considered one of Dubai's industrial crown jewels. It is part of the city-state's struggling Dubai World conglomerate, but has been exempted from that company's $24.9 billion debt restructuring effort. It has 11 new port projects still in the works, including a massive cargo terminal outside London. It said two of those, in Vallarpadam, India, and Karachi, Pakistan, are on schedule to open by year's end. The company is planning to seek a secondary listing for its shares on the London Stock Exchange sometime after the new year in what is likely to be an important test of appetite for Dubai-linked investments.
