China COSCO Holdings Co, Asia's biggest container shipping company after a government-led merger last year, posted a loss in the first half of the year - as excess capacity dragged down cargo rates - the company said in a statement to the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

The net loss was 7.21 billion yuan ($1.1 billion) in the six months to June, compared with a restated 1.97 billion yuan profit a year earlier, the Tianjin-headquartered group said on Thursday.

Revenue for the period retreated 8.5 percent to 30.9 billion yuan, in the company's first earnings report since its huge merger.