ICTSI was established by Filipino businessman Enrique K. Razon, whose family has been managing harbors in the Philippines for three generations, in connection with the bidding for the Manila International Container Terminal (MICT) contract. In May 1988, the Philippine Ports Authority awarded the MICT contract to ICTSI, which started its operations of MICT on June 12, 1988. In March 1992, ICTSI's shares were listed on the Manila and Makati Stock Exchanges (now the Philippine Stock Exchange) following the initial public offering of its shares.
The principal business of ICTSI is the management, operation and development of container terminals. The company directly operates the MICT at the Port of Manila. In addition to its core container terminal activities, ICTSI has developed an inland container depot in Calamba, Laguna linked via rail to the MICT. The company has entered into a joint venture with a local company to develop a container terminal in Batangas.
After consolidating its base and flagship operations at the MICT, ICTSI launched an aggressive international and domestic expansion program in 1994 and now has operations in Japan, Poland, Ecuador, Brazil and Madagascar.