By Katrin Berkenkopf in Cologne- Tuesday July 11 2006

HAMBURG Süd is prepared for further expansion and possible acquisitions, according to its parent group Oetker.

August Oetker, head of the family-owned German conglomerate, said his group could manage acquisitions of up to E1bn, though that would be a combined figure for all divisions.

Oetker's main activity is in food and beverages, it is, for example, the leading beer brewer in its home market.

There might be the one or other line that we could buy,Mr Oetker said in one of his rare interviews with a German daily. However, he would not give any details on the possible takeover targets. A spokesman added that no large-scale deals are imminent.

The owner underlined that Hamburg Süd will continue to focus on the north-south trades. So far, it holds good that we focus on our routes and do not enter the east-west trades,Mr Oetker said.

The north-south services were more valuable, he added. We are having cost leadership on these routes and we can help shaping these markets.That means Hamburg Süd could defend its market leadership against growing competition, even if the worst comes to the worst and freight rates fell by 30%. On the north-south trades, all our competitors were dead long before us.

Hamburg Süd has undertaken only small acquisitions over the past years. The last expansion came through the acquisition of liner services from Russian shipping company Fesco. The current investment programme of the company focusses on increasing the share of owned tonnage. We attach importance to the fact that the share of our own vessels in the fleet is growing. It is currently around 40% and we would like to see 60%,Mr Oetker said in the interview