SHENZHEN - Shareholders of China Merchants Port Holdings Company Limited (CMPort) agreed at a meeting on Monday to buy a 50 percent share of the Port of Newcastle in a move to expand to Australia.

The purchase of the Port of Newcastle, the largest port on Australia's east coast and world's largest coal export port, will cost A$607.5 million ($468 million), according to the shareholders' meeting.

CMPort said adding Newcastle to its portfolio of global ports would create potential synergies and bring long-term financial returns for the company.

CMPort is a Chinese port developer, investor and operator with a total throughput of 100 million TEU in 2017. It has a port network portfolio spanning 5 continents, 17 countries and regions and 32 ports.