Collectively, COSCO and China Shipping control 488 billion yuan (S$106.4 billion) in assets, according to Barclays analysts. Even so, as a merged entity they would still lag far behind the top three industry players - APM Maersk, Mediterranean Shipping Company and CMA CGM, which oversee almost 40 per cent of the market, analysts said. Share trading in the listed units of the two conglomerates, including COSCO's flagship China COSCO and China Shipping's China Shipping Development, have been halted since Aug 10. Chronic over-capacity and slow economic growth have pushed global freight rates to record lows, leading firms to enter vessel-sharing alliances and look for acquisitions. REUTERS