Jurong Port acquires operatorship stake in Singapore’s Universal Terminal

Singapore Government-owned port operator Jurong Port has acquired a 41% stake in Universal Terminal from the Lim family for an undisclosed sum.

Located at the southern end of Jurong Island Singapore, the terminal offers 2.33 million cubic metres of storage capacity and modern berthing facilities.

Said to be the country’s largest independent petroleum storage terminal, the Universal Terminal is one of the world’s biggest commercial storage facilities.

The terminal has a total of 15 jetties, including two for very large crude carriers (VLCCs). Its inner basin has nine bunker barge berths with the capability to load up to 1,000m³ per hour per hose.

A spokesman was cited by Reuters as saying that Jurong Port completed the purchase of a stake in Universal Terminal.

Through Universal Group Holdings, the Lim family owns a 41% stake and serves as the operator of the Universal Terminal.

The sale comes nearly a year after the troubled Singapore oil trading firm Hin Leong, which is also owned by the family of Lim Oon Kuin, faced approximately $4bn in debt and entered court restructuring.

PetroChina International (Singapore) owns a 25% stake in the Universal Terminal while the remaining 34% stake is held by MAIF Investments Singapore, a unit of Australian investment bank Macquarie Group.

Jurong Port is fully owned by Singapore’s property developer and planner JTC.

In February, Reuters reported three sources familiar with the matter saying that Jurong Port was set to take over the stake in the terminal from the Lim family.

One of the undisclosed sources said: “Jurong Port’s participation was well received by existing investors as it’s a neutral partner as compared with commercial parties such as a trading house.”