ICTSI to spend $600-M for Latin American ports

International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI), operator of the Philippines' largest container port, is planning to spend $600 million in the next two years to expand its projects in Argentina, Colombia and Mexico. The company intends to take advantage of the strong growth prospects of the Latin American region. "This [region] is growing very strong. It's booming," ICTSI chairman Enrique Razon told reporters after the stockholders' meeting of the company on Wednesday. ICTSI manages the port of Buenaventura in Colombia, the Tecplata S.A. port in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and the port of Manzanillo in Mexico. Following the strong performance in the first half, Razon said ICTSI expects to post higher profits in 2010 as against last year. "So far, it looks that way," he said when asked whether ICTSI expects the second half of the year to be as good as the first. In the first semester of the year, ICTSI profits surged 83 percent to $42.4 million on the back of stronger port operations. "All our ports are performing well over last year because of the overall recover in trade after the large drop. We've already exceeded pre-crisis levels," Razon said. ICTSI operates in Europe, Africa, Latin America and Asia. —JE, GMANews.TV