Global shipping giant COSCO Shipping Holdings Co. Ltd. of China expects a total net loss of 9.9 billion yuan ($1.44 billion, or approx. P71.76 billion) for 2016 mainly due to weak demand for container shipping in the world market, and result of asset disposal.

Global shipping giant COSCO Shipping Holdings Co. Ltd. of China expects a total net loss of 9.9 billion yuan ($1.44 billion, or approx. P71.76 billion) for 2016 mainly due to weak demand for container shipping in the world market, and result of asset disposal.

The container shipping unit of state-owned China COSCO Shipping Corp. Ltd. also added on its statement on Wednesday that rates only began to improve in the last quarter, and the expected full-year performance will be COSCO Shipping?s weakest since 2011.

However, the press release also noted that the business restructuring and synergies due to the merger with China Shipping, paved way to an improvement in its performance from quarter to quarter.

In 2015, the company posted a net profit of 283 million yuan.