Exclusive: APM Terminals CEO regrets Quetzal purchase

Outgoing APM Terminals (APMT) CEO Kim Fejfer has told CM that with hindsight the operator would not have bought a container terminal in Quetzal, formerly operated by Grup TCB.

The company recently agreed to pay the Guatemalan government US$43m in compensation after obtaining a concession to operate Terminal de Contenedores Quetzal (TCQ) through its acquisition of Grup TCB, which the latter allegedly won through bribery.

Fejfer told CM: “Based on the information that we had at the time and from due diligence, this was absolutely the right decision, but had we known what we now know, then we would have definitely not bought the activity [TCQ].”