HUTCHISON Port Holdings Ltd, the biggest container terminal operator worldwide, plans to raise its stake in a venture in Shenzhen because of the country's rising demand for sea cargo.

Shenzhen Yantian Port Holdings Co may sell a 23 percent stake in the venture to Hutchison Port, a unit of Hutchison Whampoa Ltd, it said in a Shenzhen Stock Exchange statement yesterday.

Hutchison's stake in the venture will rise to 65 percent, while Yantian Port's will fall to 35 percent, the statement said. Shenzhen, the world's fourth-biggest container port, is growing more quickly than its neighbor Hong Kong, as it is cheaper.

The port boosted its container volume 14 percent last year, compared with a 4.1 percent increase in Hong Kong, Bloomberg News reported. The venture, set up in 2004, had profit of 6.59 million yuan (US$860,000) last year, according to the statement.

It didn't say how much Hutchison Port will pay for the stake. Yantian Port's company secretary department and Anthony Tam, a Hutchison Port spokesman, declined to comment.