In 1999, the Egyptian government opened the bidding for a container terminal in the new port at East Port Said. An agreement between the government and SCCT was signed in 2004, following which SCCT began a pioneering experiment in the area of East Port Said. SCCT is an Egyptian joint venture company with domestic and foreign investors. The Dutch company, APM Terminals is the largest stake-holder with 55 percent of SCCT. It is considered one of the largest companies in the industry worldwide, with more than 63 operations. The remains shares in SCCT are distributed as follows: 20 percent owned by the Chinese Company, Cosco; 10.3 percent is of the shares are owned by the Suez Canal Authority; 5 percent are owned by the National Bank of Egypt and the remaining 9.7 percent are owned by private Egyptian investors.