China COSCO Holdings (601398.SHA, 1398.HKG), the country’s largest shipping company, posted a loss for 2012 on Thursday, missing analyst expectations as rates for shipping dry-bulk goods plummeted, Bloomberg reported. In a filing with the Shanghai exchange, COSCO reported a loss for 2012 of US$1.54 billion (RMB 9.56 billion), compared to a loss of US$1.68 billion in 2011. An analyst roundup conducted by Bloomberg put the company’s average projected losses at US$1.27 billion for 2012. Chairman Wei Jiafu is said to be planning an extensive restructuring of the firm, which would reportedly sell up to US$4.3 billion in assets back to its parent company China Ocean Shipping (Group).
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