Maersk Line to invest in Colombo Port expansion

Jan 13, 2016 (LBO) – Danish multinationals including Maersk Line and Novo Nordisk are seeking to invest in Sri Lanka, Danish Ambassador for Sri Lanka Peter Taksøe-Jensen revealed.

Maersk Line has been the world’s largest container shipping company since 1996. It operates 604 container vessels across the world and calls on 343 ports in 121 countries. “I am pleased to say that it is planning to enter Sri Lanka and looking to invest in a new container facility and join the Colombo port expansion-and set up a warehouse facility as well,” Ambassador said.

Maersk Line is an operating unit of the A.P.Moller–Maersk, the Danish business conglomerate, which according to the Forbes magazine, is the third largest company in the entire Nordic region. The Ambassador was revealing their entry plans for Sri Lanka to Industry and Commerce Minister Rishad Bathiudeen yesterday in Colombo. “Novo Nordisk, the Danish multinational pharmaceutical firm, the world leader in insulin production, is also very interested in establishing a subsidiary here,” Ambassador said.

Novo Nordisk is the world’s leading diabetes care company with a 48 percent share of global insulin market.

Headquartered in Bagsværd, Denmark, it is in the front-lines of supplying human insulin, whose rapid global demand growth is 10 -12 percent a year. “Two other Danish multinationals in green-tech and water management also are closely studying Sri Lanka.” he said. Minister Bathiudeen said Colombo Port now ranks among the top 35 ports in the world and the only South Asian port that can handle above 10,000 TEU mark.