A.P. Moller-Maersk’s terminal operations arm APM Terminals has acquired a 49% minority shareholding and operational role in the Hateco Hai Phong International Container Terminal (HHIT), marking the company’s first direct port investment in Vietnam and cementing a strategic foothold in northern Vietnam’s fastest-growing deep-water port. The deal, announced March 20, 2026, converts APM Terminals from development partner to co-owner alongside majority shareholder Hateco Group, following three years of joint project work that brought the greenfield terminal from construction to full commercial operations.
Key Facts At A Glance
- APM Terminals acquired a 49% stake in HHIT, the maximum permitted under Vietnamese port regulations
- Hateco Group, a Vietnamese private conglomerate, retains majority ownership
- No transaction value was disclosed by either party
- HHIT spans 73 hectares at Lach Huyen, Hai Phong, with a 900m main berth and 300m barge berth
- The terminal handles vessels of up to 18,000 TEU (200,000 DWT) and has a design capacity of 2.2 million TEU per year
- HHIT was developed from greenfield to operations in approximately 30 months, opening in April 2025
- The terminal has been selected as a port of call within the Gemini Cooperation, the East-West shipping network operated by Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd
- Baker McKenzie Vietnam acted as legal adviser to APM Terminals on the transaction
The Terminal And Its Strategic Position
HHIT occupies berths 5 and 6 at the Lach Huyen deep-water port area of Hai Phong City, approximately 100 kilometres east of Hanoi. The terminal covers nearly 73 hectares, with a main berth of 900 metres and a barge berth of 300 metres, and a water depth ranging from 16.8 to 18.4 metres, sufficient to simultaneously accommodate two ultra-large container vessels of up to 400 metres in length. Its annual design capacity of 2.2 million TEU makes it the largest and most advanced deep-water container facility in northern Vietnam.
The facility was Vietnam’s first international container terminal developed entirely by a private domestic investor. Hateco Group broke ground in August 2022 and completed construction ahead of schedule after approximately 30 months, with the terminal officially inaugurated on April 5, 2025. Equipment includes 10 ship-to-shore cranes with a reach of 24 container rows, 36 electric rubber-tyred gantry cranes, 1,350 reefer plugs, and an integrated Terminal Operating System. HHIT was also Vietnam’s first port to implement a fully smart port model, incorporating optical character recognition gates, a truck appointment system, and 5G connectivity across operations.
APM Terminals was present from the terminal’s early development stages, providing technical input on safety protocols, port automation, artificial intelligence applications, process optimization, and decarbonization practices. The formalization of its equity position as a 49% shareholder and operating partner completes the transition from advisory to ownership.
Regulatory Context
The 49% ceiling on APM Terminals’ stake is not incidental. Vietnamese regulations on port enterprises cap foreign ownership at 50% of charter capital, meaning the structure adopted by APM Terminals and Hateco Group brings the foreign partner to the maximum permissible threshold. This regulatory ceiling, while limiting formal voting control, places APM Terminals in the operating seat, consistent with its broader model of combining terminal shareholding with operational management.
Baker McKenzie Vietnam, which advised APM Terminals on the transaction, described the deal as the company’s first seaport investment in Vietnam.
Gemini Cooperation Integration
HHIT’s inclusion in the Gemini Cooperation network, the East-West shipping alliance operated jointly by Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd since February 2025, is a significant commercial differentiator. The Gemini Cooperation operates approximately 340 vessels across 29 mainliner and 28 intraregional shuttle services, targeting schedule reliability above 90%, connecting Asia to North America, Europe, and the Middle East. HHIT’s designation as a Gemini port of call connects northern Vietnam directly to this network, enabling direct container services to both the US East and West Coasts and to European markets without routing through Singapore or Hong Kong transhipment hubs.
For exporters and importers in the Red River Delta region, which produces electronics, garments, footwear, and machinery components primarily destined for North American and European markets, this represents a material reduction in transit times and transhipment costs. Cargo growth through Hai Phong has been running at 12 to 15 percent annually, with throughput reaching 190 million tonnes in 2024 and a projected 212 million tonnes in 2025, according to Hai Phong city authorities.
APM Terminals’ Vietnam And Regional Strategy
Jon Goldner, Chief Executive Asia and Middle East at APM Terminals, described the investment as an affirmation of the company’s long-term commitment to Vietnam. “We believe that the terminal delivers on our promise of providing smarter, greener and faster logistics to deepen and develop trade in the region,” Goldner said.
For APM Terminals, the HHIT stake fits within a broader strategy of positioning owned or co-owned terminal assets as anchor nodes in the Gemini Cooperation’s hub-and-spoke model. APM Terminals and Hapag-Lloyd together provide the terminal infrastructure backbone of the Gemini network.
The investment is also timed to coincide with Vietnam’s broader infrastructure expansion in the Lach Huyen zone, where additional berths are under development, and with the April 13, 2026 approval of the $4.96 billion Can Gio International Transshipment Port project in the south of the country, backed by a consortium including MSC’s terminal arm Terminal Investment Limited, Vietnam Maritime Corporation, and Saigon Port. Taken together, these two transactions signal a sustained wave of foreign terminal capital entering Vietnam’s port sector as the country consolidates its position as a global manufacturing and logistics hub.
Tran Van Ky, Chairman of Hateco Group, noted that the terminal had achieved the highest berth productivity in the Port of Hai Phong and set records for automated gate operations since commencing commercial activity. “We look forward to working closely with APM Terminals in the years ahead to further optimise terminal operations for our customers,” he said.