The Port of Qingdao commenced operations in 1892 and is one of the largest comprehensive ports in the world. Our origin can be traced back to the establishment of the predecessor of our Controlling Shareholder, Port Authority of the People’s Government of Qingdao, in August 1949. After several rounds of internal reorganization, this entity was renamed as Qingdao Port Authority in 1987 and was under the administration of the People’s Government of Qingdao and the Ministry of Transport, with the People’s Government of Qingdao being the main governing authority.
In January 2003, QDP, our Controlling Shareholder, was transformed into a wholly state-owned enterprise with limited liability by Qingdao SASAC with a registered capital of RMB1, 860 million, replacing Qingdao Port Authority in accordance with the State Council’s policy to reform the administration system of the port industry and with approval from the People’s Government of Qingdao. After spinning off the administrative functions and related assets, the remaining assets along with the relevant personnel, creditor’s rights and liabilities of Qingdao Port Authority were injected into QDP.