Taipei  - Taiwan's Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp will open a branch in Turkey to expand its global container shipping business, the company said Wednesday.

Yang Ming Anatolia Shipping Agency is a joint venture between Yang Ming and its Turkish agent Egekont Container Transport. It will begin operation in Istanbul, Turkey, on January 1, 2009.

"Turkey is located between East Mediterranean and Black Sea area and is a hub for shipments to and from the Black Sea. Turkey's economy has been growing steadily in recent years and is expected to develop rapidly in the near future," Yang Ming said in a news release.

By launching the Turkish subsidiary, Yang Ming hopes to integrate neighboring markets, improve East Mediterranean-Black Sea service network, and to boost its global competitiveness, it added.

Yang Ming, Taiwan's second-largest container shipping line after the Evergreen Marine, has about 100 container ships. It has branch companies in Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea, Vietnam, India, Britain, the Netherlands, Italy, Belgium and Liberia. (dpa)