China Merchants Group


China Merchants Group Limited is a multinational state-owned corporation of People's Republic of China. The company offers freight forwarding, professional logistics, port transportation, and other services. China Merchants Group also serves real estate, financial, insurance, and other businesses worldwide.

History

China Merchants Steam Navigation Company was a transportation company founded on December16, 1872, by then Minister of Beiyang Li Hongzhang as part of the Self-Strengthening Movement during the late Qing dynasty. Its purpose was to capture part of the international trade, which had been virtually monopolized by foreign companies based in Treaty ports. Eighty percent of the start-up capital was provided by native Chinese, making this the first transportation company using modern technology not based on foreign ownership. It obtained government support when it received a monopoly contract to carry the tribute grain from the Yangzi Valley to the capital, as well as loans from government sources and monopoly rights that precluded the founding of rival Chinese steamship companies. It remained one of the four most prominent shipping companies in China between the 1880s and World War II. However it grew more slowly than foreign firms because a government official Sheng Xuanhuai became its director-general in 1885. He allowed corruption and payoffs, and diverted funds to other enterprises.
In 1938, during the Second Sino-Japanese War, the company sold four of its ships Haiyuan, Haili, Haichen and Haiheng to the Hong Kong-based trading company Jardine Matheson & Co.
The company split due to the Chinese Civil War. In 1949, the company's head office was transferred together with the Republic of China government from the mainland to Taiwan. The Taipei-based CMSNC merged with Yang Ming Marine Transport Corporation on July1, 1995. Meanwhile, the People's Republic of China retained ownership of some of the company's ships and of the Hong Kong subsidiary, and allowed the latter to retain its name to avoid legal disputes.
At the beginning of the Reform and Opening era, Yuan Geng became the Vice Chairman of CMG in October 1978 and used it to create the Shekou Industrial Zone. Yuan Geng later led the creation of China Merchants Bank in 1986.

Subsidiaries

The company currently owns: