The chief executive of German container shipping liner Hapag-Lloyd said he was not aware of major merger activities in the sector a day after a Reuters report said his company had been approached by French rival CMA CGM.
"We do not see major takeovers in the industry," Rolf Habben Jansen said in a statement issued on the day of the firm's annual general meeting in Hamburg.
"If at all, there are smaller tie-ups by niche players in the short term," he said.
(Reporting by Vera Eckert Editing by Arno Schuetze)