MOVES are afoot at Shanghai International Port Group (SIPG) to acquire stakes in berths at overseas ports.

SIPG representatives have recently visited the port of Zeebrugge, with a view to investing in the Belgium port, according to sources close to the deal. Visits to other international ports are expected to follow.

The Zeebrugge trip was made upon the recommendation of shipping giant Maersk, which started operating a container terminal at the port of Zeebrugge in May.

Analysts were cited as saying in a Xinhua report that SIPG may operate a Zeebrugge berth with Maersk, but SIPG is not expected to be the majority shareholder in the potential tie-up.

Analysts are said to regard SIPG''s visit to the port of Zeebrugge as largely symbolic and feel the group is only just getting underway with its global expansion plans. They have also noted that owning a stake in a berth at the port of Zeebrugge would have little impact on the group''s earnings.

The port, Belgium''s second largest, handled 1.4 million TEU in 2005, which was approximately less than one sixth of SIPG''s throughput last year.

Finding further investment opportunities overseas appears to be the next step in SIPG''s expansion plan as experts believe that there is limited opportunity for the group to expand further in China''s Bohai Rim, Xinhua added.