Channel 0136 Cargo | Logistics

Logwin Opens Own Location in Dubai Airport Free Zone

2010-02-07T04:54:00.000-08:00

The logistics service provider Logwin is now strategically even better positioned in Dubai. Logwin has opened a new additional office in the Dubai Airport Free Zone Authority (DAFZA). The office is situated in the immediate vicinity of the airlines and is the company's second location in Dubai. The staff began operations on 20 January 2010, managed by Satish Kumar. The focus is the processing of air freight.

(Photo: http://www.prnasia.com/sa/2010/02/03/20100203472978.html)
(Logo: http://www.prnasia.com/xprn/sa/200805161604.jpg)

In order to further improve the service for customers in Dubai, Logwin is not just employing experienced staff from its first location in the Al Musalla Tower at its new DAFZA office, but has taken on new staff, in particular in the area of sales. A total of 13 staff in the new office takes care of customers.

"Opening the second office makes sense in order to further expedite the processing of global air freight transport while retaining the same high level of quality," says Hauke Mueller, Managing Director Region Europe Middle East at the Logwin business segment Air + Ocean. "This will allow us to significantly increase the number of processed shipments and improve our service to customers."

Around 300 companies currently have their main office in the DAFZA. Most of them are global players maintaining business connections around the world. Logwin customers from the technology and luxury goods industry as well as from the automotive sector are also based here. "Customer proximity is not just another phrase for us - it is something we practice," explains Hauke Mueller. "In Dubai, we have bucked the trend and succeeded in growing. With the new office we have created the conditions for continuing on this successful course."

Changi Airport Group and Jetstar Group sign air hub deal supporting flights growth

2010-02-07T02:17:00.000-08:00

Jetstar to make Changi Airport its largest hub in Asia

Changi Airport Group (CAG) and Jetstar signed an agreement today to launch a strategic partnership that will see Jetstar continue to make Singapore Changi Airport its largest air hub in Asia for both short and long haul operations. As part of the agreement, Jetstar will operate its highest number of services and base its largest number of A320-family aircraft in Asia at Changi. It also commits to introduce long haul services using wide body aircraft out of Singapore.

Under the three-year agreement, the Jetstar Group – which includes Jetstar in Australia and Jetstar Asia/ Valuair based in Singapore – is committed to increase existing flight frequencies and offer more destinations from Singapore.

Jetstar’s projected growth at Changi will include additional A320-family narrow body services and, for the first time, wide-body A330-200 medium and long haul flights to and from destinations in Asia and beyond. Jetstar also aims to grow the percentage of transit and transfer traffic through Changi among its passengers.

CAG will support Jetstar’s continued growth at Changi Airport with various incentives under the Changi Airport Growth Initiative which was introduced on 1 January 2010. The incentives will enable Jetstar to lower its cost of operations at Changi. It will also receive additional incentives for launching services to cities not currently connected to Changi. This will provide more offerings and new exciting destinations for passengers travelling via and out of Singapore.

As a partner, CAG will work closely with Jetstar to explore route opportunities to grow its traffic out of Changi. CAG will also support Jetstar’s operational needs, such as to improve its ground operations and to enhance the airport experience of its passengers, for example by introducing an early check-in option for Jetstar passengers travelling on the same day.
Growing at Changi, together

Welcoming CAG’s partnership with Jetstar, CAG Chief Executive Officer, Mr Lee Seow Hiang, said, “We are honoured that Jetstar has chosen Changi Airport to be its largest hub in Asia. We are committed to supporting Jetstar’s growth at Changi by helping it to grow traffic and to keep costs low. By hubbing at Changi, Jetstar will gain from inter-lining opportunities with the many airlines that fly here, including its parent, Qantas, which already uses Changi as an Asia hub.

“For Changi Airport, it will benefit from Jetstar’s increased number of flights and destinations, which will contribute to higher passenger traffic and a stronger connectivity network. And, importantly, this partnership is also beneficial for air travellers in the region who will enjoy a greater choice of low-fare travel options through Changi.”

Mr Lee added, “Our agreement with Jetstar signals CAG’s strong desire to work with our airline partners to grow the pie at Changi. We are ready to develop customised partnerships with airlines based on their business models and growth plans, whether they are full service or low cost carriers.”

Jetstar Chief Executive Officer Mr Bruce Buchanan said the new agreement would support significant growth opportunities for Jetstar and its networks linking Singapore.

“This agreement is most important to us and provides a platform for sustainable future growth throughout Asia,” Mr Buchanan said.

“Partnerships like this with Changi Airport Group allow us to invest in both existing and new flying markets and present opportunities from Singapore for us to drive growth.

“Singapore is of high strategic importance to Jetstar and equally of great importance to the Qantas Group. This agreement provides further leverage to us now seeking the full benefits of a burgeoning hub operation in Singapore.

“The clear operational advantages of Singapore as a hub and primary access point into Asia are clear and can now be further built upon as a result of this agreement.”

Jetstar, a pioneer in Asia’s low cost carrier sector, operates 408 flights each week to and from Changi, offering its passengers a varied menu of 23 destinations. Its future planned growth is supported by fleet expansion plans to beyond 100 aircraft by 2014/15.

Descartes' Chinese United-by-Design Reseller, NTI, Signs First Customer

2010-02-07T01:53:00.000-08:00

Descartes Systems Group (TSX:DSG) (Nasdaq:DSGX), a federated global logistics network, announced New Trend International Logistics Technology Ltd. (NTI), a leading Chinese material handling technology provider and Descartes United by Design reseller, has signed its first customer, Jiangsu Tobacco.

Jiangsu Tobacco selected Descartes' Routing and Scheduling solution, combined with a global positioning system (GPS) solution to provide real-time visibility and security for vehicles in the field. Descartes' routing and scheduling solution streamlines delivery routes by maximizing Jiangsu Tobacco's asset utilization and enables performance measurement against an actual plan. Descartes' Routing and Scheduling solution re-optimizes deliveries in real-time, allocating resources to help maximize operating efficiencies; deliver priority service to the most profitable accounts and routes; and maintain overall customer service objectives. Descartes' Routing and Scheduling solution is designed to integrate easily with existing order management or transportation planning systems, and can help companies reduce costs as a result of shorter routes, reduced fuel consumption and enhanced fleet utilization.

Jiangsu Tobacco is the first project since the December 2009 announcement of Descartes' alliance with NTI to combine its federated platform that unites hardware, software, networks and a community of logistics organizations, with NTI's local business network to provide a comprehensive logistics information management system. This information management system includes logistics management information system (LMIS), warehouse management (WMS), transportation management (TMS) and GPS technologies. NTI provides project management, system integration as well as the LMIS platform for the project.

Descartes' federated network combines the power of the Descartes Global Logistics Network (GLN), a community of over 22,000 companies in over 165 countries exchanging logistics information, and value-added applications working together to standardize and streamline business processes.

"We are excited about signing Jiangsu Tobacco to use Descartes' Routing and Scheduling solution," said Raymond Cheung, Vice President of NTI. "Our alliance incorporates our local business network with Descartes' state-of-the-art distribution solution, to meet the requirement of the Chinese government to speed up the construction of information technology in the logistics industry. We look forward to continuing to work together with Descartes to improve the productivity and performance of logistics-intensive organizations across China."

"Signing our first customer through our ‘United-by-Design' alliance with NTI is proof that joining our networks to provide a comprehensive federated platform enables our customers to accelerate the time-to-value and results for organizations," said Art Mesher, CEO of Descartes. "We look forward to continuing to work together with NTI to standardize and automate logistics processes for organizations in China."
About Jiangsu Tobacco

Jiangsu Tobacco is one of the 33 provincial tobacco companies of China Tobacco. For more information about Jiangsu Tobacco visit http://www.tobacco.gov.cn/html/index.html
About NTI

NTI was established in 2000 in Shenzhen China. They are a professional material handling systems technology company specialized in logistics technological transformation, logistics solutions, logistics system integration and logistics software development. NTI is headquartered in Shenzhen city, with a staff of over 200. For more information about NTI visit www.nti56.com.
About Descartes

Descartes (TSX:DSG) (Nasdaq:DSGX) is making the world a better place by enabling global organizations with logistics-intensive businesses to save money by improving the productivity and performance of their operations. Underlying Descartes' offerings is the Descartes Global Logistics Network (GLN), one of the world's most extensive multi-modal business applications network. As a federated platform, the Descartes GLN combines with component-based 'nano' sized applications to provide messaging services between logistics trading partners, shipment management services to help manage third party carriers and private fleet management services for organizations of all sizes. Descartes' solutions and services deliver results by enabling organizations around the world to reduce administrative costs, billing cycles, fleet size, contract carrier costs, and mileage driven; improve pickup and delivery reliability; and optimize working capital through fleet visibility. Descartes' hosted, transactional and packaged solutions deliver repeatable, measurable results and fast time-to-value. Descartes customers include an estimated 1,600 ground carriers and more than 90 airlines, 30 ocean carriers, 900 freight forwarders and third-party providers of logistics services, and hundreds of manufacturers, retailers, distributors, private fleet owners and regulatory agencies. The company has more than 400 employees and is based in Waterloo, Ontario, with operations in Atlanta, Copenhagen, Heverlee, Pittsburgh, Ottawa, Montreal, Miami, Minneapolis, Washington D.C., Derby, London, Silver Spring, Stockholm, Suzhou, Shanghai, Tokyo, and Toronto. For more information, visit www.descartes.com.

The Descartes Systems Group logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=4065

This release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws ("forward-looking statements") that relate to Descartes' solution offering and potential benefits derived therefrom; Descartes combining its federated platform with NTI's local business network; and other matters. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from the anticipated results, performance or achievements or developments expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to, changes in the structure or deployment of compliance initiatives and the factors and assumptions discussed in the section entitled, "Certain Factors That May Affect Future Results" in documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Ontario Securities Commission and other securities commissions across Canada. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance upon any such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. We do not undertake or accept any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements to reflect any change in our expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.

TTA’s shareholders approved cash dividend payments at 0.54 THB per share,

2010-02-07T01:46:00.000-08:00

TTA’s shareholders approved cash dividend payments at 0.54 THB per share, cancelled and reaffirmed 50 million ordinary shares at Baht 1 par for future financial usage, and nominated four directors for another term

An annual cash dividend payment at 0.54 THB per share was approved at the 1/2010 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders of Thoresen Thai Agencies Public Company Limited (“TTA”) along with the increase of TTA registered share capital for a private placement worth 50 million THB. The meeting also approved the re-appointment of four directors for another term.

M.L. Chandchutha Chandratat, TTA President and Chief Executive Officer, reported that TTA’s shareholders approved cash dividends at 0.54 THB per share to the 708,004,413 shares, worth 382.3 million THB in total value.

“The dividends will be paid to shareholders whose names appear on TTA’s share register book on the Record Date of 8 February 2010. The share register book closing date for collecting shareholders names under Section 225 of the Securities and Exchange Act is scheduled to be 9 February 2010. The final dividend payment shall be made on 23 February 2010,” said the President & Chief Executive Officer.

“The shareholders approved the re-election of Mr. Stephen Fordham, Mrs. Pratana Mongkolkul, Mrs. Joey Horn, and Mr. Terje Schau, as directors for another term as they are highly experienced and competent.”

“It also approved the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers ABAS Limited as TTA’s auditor for the financial year that ended on 30 September 2010 and fix the auditors’ fees at 3.16 million THB,” said President & Chief Executive Officer Chandchutha.

He said the shareholders also approved the capital reduction by cancelling 50,048,452 authorized but un-issued shares at the par value of 1 THB each from the existing registered capital of 933 million THB to be the new registered capital of 883 million THB divided into 883,004,413 shares at the par value of Baht 1 each.

“The shareholders approved an increase of the registered capital of another 50 million THB by an issue of 50,000,000 new ordinary shares at the par value of Baht 1 each from the existing registered capital of 883 million THB to be the new registered capital of 933 million THB divided into 933,004,413 ordinary shares at the par value of 1 THB each,” reported the President & Chief Executive Officer.

“The shareholders had approved the allotment of 50,000,000 new ordinary shares of par value at 1 THB to be reserved for private placement in 1999 and re-confirmed the amount in 2009. TTA has no immediate plan to place the private placement shares in the near future. The allotment of 50 million new shares is to maintain future financial flexibility.”

The shareholders approved the issue of 4,000,000 warrants to directors and employees, including any employee(s) who is also a director, of Mermaid and its subsidiaries, under an ESOP Scheme. “The ESOP Scheme has the goal of increasing the personal stake of such directors and employees in the continued success and growth of Mermaid and motivating them to remain in the service of Mermaid on a long-term basis,” he said.
About TTA

Thoresen Thai Agencies Public Company Limited is amongst the top 50 companies listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand with high trading liquidity. Its investment strategy is to grow through a diversified business portfolio of transport, energy, and infrastructure assets, both domestically and internationally. TTA is recognised as a leader in the dry bulk shipping industry. The company has also expanded its investment into other business areas, such as offshore services through Mermaid Maritime Public Company Limited, fertilisers and logistics through Baconco Co., Ltd., and coal-related businesses through Merton Group (Cyprus) Limited and Unique Mining Services Public Company Limited.

syncreon Increases Healthcare Scope

2010-01-29T23:05:00.001-08:00

syncreon, a provider of highly customized supply chain and integrated logistics solutions, today announced that the Principals of H3 Logistics, LLC have joined syncreon's global organization.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20091229/CL30911LOGO )

H3 Logistics is a third-party logistics (3PL) and supply chain engineering company providing solutions to the healthcare industry. Integrating the service offerings of H3 Logistics provides syncreon capabilities to improve the service and cost structure of supply chains for healthcare providers and supply vendors as the need for logistical support extends beyond a health system's acute care setting to their ambulatory care, episodic care, and post-acute care delivery points. It strengthens syncreon's offerings and expands end markets served to include healthcare providers.

Brian Enright, President & CEO of syncreon, said, "This is an important addition to syncreon as we continue our expansion in, and service offerings to, the Healthcare Industry. H3 Logistics services add considerably to our capabilities. It continues to build upon syncreon's core differentiator - flexible and customized solutions for our customers."
About syncreon

syncreon is a global contract logistics and supply chain management company that uses its asset-light business model to provide specialized transportation, inbound, outbound, and fulfillment logistics services. These services are fully integrated into their customers' supply chain and final end-client delivery.

With its operational HQ in Auburn Hills, MI., syncreon has activities in 20 countries, with over 60 facilities and approximately 9,500 employees. syncreon is owned by Irish businessmen Michael & Brian Enright and New York based private equity firm, GenNx360 Capital Partners. For more information please visit, www.syncreon.com .
About H3 Logistics

H3 Logistics is a third-party logistics (3PL) and supply chain engineering company. H3 Logistics designs and implements supply chain solutions for independent hospitals, health systems and collaborations of unaffiliated healthcare providers. www.H3Logistics.com .
About GenNx360 Capital Partners

GenNx360 Capital Partners is committed to delivering superior returns to investors in all its portfolio companies. The firm acquires companies with proven and sustainable business models in expanding industries and implements the required operating changes to deliver cost efficiencies and accelerated growth opportunities. The firm's proven business methodology is based on more than 100 years of partner experience successfully running global businesses.

TTA & UMS Won Accolades for Good Corporate Governance from IOD

2010-01-29T21:08:00.001-08:00

Thoresen Thai Agencies Public Company Limited (“TTA”) received an “Excellent” assessment rating from the Thai Institute of Directors Association (“IOD”) for its corporate governance practices, according to TTA President & CEO M.L. Chandchutha Chandratat.

“This is a highly valued testimony to TTA’s efforts to improve our corporate governance practices in line with the best publicly listed companies. We are very proud to receive an ‘Excellent’ rating from the IOD, which assessed more than 290 publicly listed Thai companies in 2009,” said M.L. Chandchutha.

Unique Mining Services Public Company Limited (“UMS”), the coal logistics subsidiary of TTA, received a “Very Good” rating from the IOD as part of the same assessment process.

A number of evaluation criteria were used based on the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (“OECD”) and the SET Principles of Corporate Governance, namely 1) The Rights of Shareholders, 2) The Equitable Treatment of Shareholders, 3) The Role of Stakeholders, 4) Disclosure and Transparency, and 5) The Responsibilities of the Board.

“This assessment strongly reflects TTA’s accomplishments in developing a good governance framework. It also highlights our strong Board leadership, professional management and effective partnerships with our stakeholders,” said M.L. Chandchutha.

“TTA and UMS are determined to uphold good corporate governance principles and high professional management standards. Our corporate governance framework is an integral part of our goal to further develop a top-performing diversified business group and ensure the delivery of good long-term returns to our shareholders,” affirmed M.L. Chandchutha.
About TTA

Thoresen Thai Agencies Public Company Limited is amongst the top 50 companies listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand with high trading liquidity. Its investment strategy is to grow through a diversified business portfolio of transport, energy, and infrastructure assets, both domestically and internationally. TTA is recognised as a leader in the dry bulk shipping industry. The company has also expanded its investment into other business areas, such as offshore services through Mermaid Maritime Public Company Limited, fertilisers and logistics through Baconco Co., Ltd., and coal-related businesses through Merton Group (Cyprus) Limited and Unique Mining Services Public Company Limited.

Four Soft and Freight Forwarding Industry Leaders Form Global Alliance to Drive Efficiencies in Logistics Software

2010-01-24T05:37:00.001-08:00

Four Soft Limited, India (NSE: "FOURSOFT", BSE 532521), a global leader offering software solutions for transportation and logistics, today announced that it is bringing top players of the logistics industry on a

single platform to form a strategic initiative - FFIFA (Freight Forwarding Industry & Four Soft Alliance).

Leading players like DHL, Geodis Wilson, CEVA, Agility, FedEx and Continental Group have come together for the first time to drive efficiencies in the logistics software deployment. The members will collaborate and collectively suggest the adoption of best practices across the industry.

Kieren Ring, CEO, Global Institute of Logistics, commented, "I have been observing the growth of Four Soft from the past few years and they have the acquaintance with the global logistics players which makes

them the ideal partner to hold this initiative. I am sure this will help the Logistics industry to achieve next level of maturity in their business processes.”

Palem Srikanth, Chairman, Four Soft Limited, commented, "Logistics industry has been facing serious problems due to lack of standardized business processes. It has made them less competitive and led to lack of

control on their IT budgets. We believe this is the right time for leading players of the industry to come together and adopt a collaborative approach to the common industry problems.”

Rajshekhar Roy, CEO, Four Soft Limited, commented, "FFIFA will kick start much needed collaboration and defining common industry standards, resulting in lowering the communication costs among various

players and using IT as a tool of competitive advantage. Four Soft has established market leadership position in the 3PL and the transportation segments and this association will provide a great opportunity to work with industry leaders which enables us to better serve our customer base with enterprise-class software solutions.”
About Four Soft Limited

Four Soft is a public listed and CMMI level 3 certified company which provides innovative software solutions and IT consultancy services exclusively for the logistics and supply-chain management market place.

With regional offices strategically located worldwide, it supports customers including DHL, Schenker, Agility, UTI and Geodis-Wilson.

ETIHAD TO OPERATE RELIEF CARGO FLIGHT TO HAITI

2010-01-24T04:12:00.000-08:00

Etihad Crystal Cargo will operate a special Red Crescent and Khalifa Welfare Foundation charter flight to Haiti on Wednesday 20 January, carrying medical and humanitarian supplies to the earthquake hit country.

The MD11 aircraft, which will use its full capacity of 88 tonnes, will fly first to Casablanca and then onto Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. The cargo will be unloaded there and taken to neighbouring Haiti.

The charter flight is part of the “Care By Air” initiative, founded by Maximus Air Cargo, Etihad Airways and Abu Dhabi Airport Services, which provides cargo space ‘at cost’ to deliver relief aid to disaster-stricken areas around the world.

James Hogan, Etihad Airways’ chief executive, said: “Etihad is proud to be able to support the Red Crescent and Khalifa Welfare Foundation as they try to help the people of Haiti to recover from the devastating effects of last week’s earthquake.

“Despite the distance between Abu Dhabi and Haiti, everyone at Etihad Crystal Cargo is committed to ensuring this relief flight carrying vital medicines and food takes place as quickly as possible.”

Ahmed Humaid Al Mazrouei, Chairman of the UAE Red Crescent, said: “Our mission is to mobilise humanitarian forces to aid those in need and the situation in Haiti is probably the worst in the world right now and we need to get help there urgently.

“In these desperate times I am pleased the “Care By Air” partners have been able to work together to bring this much needed help to the people of Haiti.”

Fathi Hilal Buhazza, Maximus Air Cargo’s President and CEO, said: “Maximus Air Cargo is fully committed to "Care by Air" and in helping humanitarian and relief operations across the world.

“As a result we are keen to work together with our partners in helping the Red Crescent and Khalifa Foundation with their shipments to Haiti.”
About Etihad Airways

Etihad Airways is the national airline of the United Arab Emirates based in the UAE’s capital, Abu Dhabi. The airline offers flights to more than 55 destinations in the Middle East, Europe, North America, Africa, Asia and Australia. Etihad Crystal Cargo operates a fleet of three freighter aircraft which includes two Airbus A300-600s and an MD 11. For further details: Etihad Airways Corporate Communications: www.etihadmediacentre.com
FOR TICKETS AND RESERVATIONS, please contact:
Etihad Airways Bangkok Tel: 02-2530099 or BKKTKT@etihad.ae
FOR MEDIA, please contact:
Parisa Chayakula/Maetavarin Maneekulpan
Total Quality PR (Thailand) Co., Ltd
Tel. 02 260 5820 ext. 121/115 Fax 02 260 5847 – 8
E-mail: samui@tqpr.com, mae@tqpr.com
About Maximus Air Cargo

Maximus Air Cargo, an Abu Dhabi Aviation Group company, was established in 2005 to provide tailored solutions for moving outsized cargo. A

fter operating for only just over 4 years in the region, it is now a significant regional air cargo carrier and cargo aircraft wet lease operator, employing more than 175 staff and operating a fleet of eight all-cargo Antonov An-124-100, Airbus A300-600RF, Ilyushin IL-76TD, and Lockheed Hercules L382G aircraft across the Middle East, Europe, Africa and Asia.

Maximus currently runs regular scheduled cargo services on behalf of Etihad Crystal Cargo and is the appointed exclusive air relief support partner for the UAE Red Crescent

National Air Cargo Investing Resources to Expand Presence in Asia

2010-01-17T03:44:00.000-08:00

Company creates sales team and adds toll free numbers program

National Air Cargo is investing resources to expand the company's presence in Asia as part of its strategic plan to enhance growth and develop new business opportunities in the Asian marketplace. The company recently formed a dedicated sales team for Asia and added toll free phone numbers that will be maintained for extended hours through a dedicated call center based in Kuala Lumpur.

"This investment is based on our significant growth in the Asian marketplace which has grown by approximately 50% in just the last year alone," Alan White, regional director, Pacific Rim, National Air Cargo said.

"We are confident that this allocation of corporate resources will provide us with a significant return on our investment in this emerging global marketplace."

The new sales team will be directed by Mr. White, who heads all National Air Cargo's operations in Asia. Hari Subramaniam has been reassigned from Dubai to India to lead the sales efforts there. Haryati Nordin has been hired to assist sales efforts in the commercial and charter markets and will be based in Kuala Lumpur. Also joining the new sales team is Walter Edwards as Business Development Manager and Keiko Takatsu who will serve in the capacity of account executive; both will be based in Japan. Martha Chung has been hired as a Sales Support Executive and will be based in Seoul, Korea, where she will manage the local National Air Cargo office and provide all servicing for the country's shipping clients.

National Air Cargo also launched a toll free number program to provide an added level of convenience for customers who need to schedule a transport or a pick-up delivery. Calls to the new number will be directed to the call center in Kuala Lumpur. The call center will be staffed with trained associates that will be able to manage calls in various languages. The toll free numbers will provide convenience for customers to contact National Air Cargo from anywhere in Asia and schedule shipping, track deliveries, or utilize any of the company's many freight forwarding services.
The toll free numbers are:
- Japan: 010 800 6860 4655
- Korea: 001 800 6860 4655
- India: 000 800 600 1152
- Philippines: 00 800 6860 4655
- Singapore: 800 6860 4655
- Thailand: 001 800 6860 4655

"We are very excited to add these resources to expand our footprint in Asia and we look forward to continued growth in this exciting marketplace," White concluded.
About National Air Cargo:

Since 1991, National Air Cargo has provided high quality and efficient freight forwarding services for many military and industrial customers. The company offers airlift operations with appropriate aircraft with payload options ranging from four tons to 250 tons to countries throughout the world. For more information please visit www.nationalaircargo.com .
About National Airlines

Founded in 1985, National Airlines currently operates three long range intercontinental 45 ton capacity jet freighters. National Airlines is based in Ypsilanti, MI and operates scheduled and on demand cargo charter services.

TTA christened its newest vessel, the “Thor Friendship”,worth Baht 1,241.20 million, recently at a naming and cord cutting ceremony in Sasebo, Japan

2010-01-02T04:15:00.001-08:00

As part of its strategic long-term development plan, Thoresen Thai Agencies Public Company Limited (“TTA”) is modernising its fleet by adding several new vessels. Including the Thor Friendship, TTA owns 36 ships. The Thor Friendship was built by Oshima Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. with Sumitomo Corporation representing the shipyard as sales agent, and is the first of five newly crafted ships to be delivered over the next two years.

M.L. Chandchutha Chandratat, TTA President & CEO, revealed that the Thor Friendship will be the newest and largest dry bulk vessel of TTA’s fleet. “This purpose-built vessel will enable TTA to upgrade its cargo service, speed, capacity, and effectiveness in 2010. Dry bulk shipping is a major part of our Transport Group. Under TTA’s diversification strategy, we will invest in three main business segments: Transport, Energy, and Infrastructure in a continuous and disciplined approach,” said M.L. Chandchutha.

This vessel has a 53,350 deadweight ton capacity and was ordered in December 2006. The Thor Friendship is fully equipped with four cargo cranes, each of which has a safe working load of 36 metric tons. TTA entrusted the ship construction to Nagasaki-based Oshima Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. on the strength of the yard’s reputation for high quality shipbuilding and customer service.

“The building process was completed in 8 months. We are proud to say Oshima applied ultra modern technology at the request of TTA in building this cargo ship, reducing her environmental impact, and improving TTA’s remote monitoring capabilities. Moreover, the Thor Friendship will further enhance the dry bulk business prospects for TTA in line with the current shipping strategy,” added
M.L. Chandchutha.

“Thor Friendship is scheduled to start operating in January 2010 on a world wide basis. Including the Thor Friendship, our fleet averages 18.12 years of age and comprises 36 vessels with an average capacity of 26,887 deadweight tons. We plan to take delivery of another Oshima-built vessel in 2011, which will be part of our overall fleet renewal process and increase operating efficiencies,” said M.L. Chandchutha.
About TTA

Thoresen Thai Agencies Public Company Limited is amongst the top 50 companies listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand with high trading liquidity. Its investment strategy is to grow through a diversified business portfolio of transport, energy, and infrastructure assets, both domestically and internationally. TTA is recognised as a leader in the dry bulk shipping industry. The company has also expanded its investment into other business areas, such as offshore services through Mermaid Maritime Public Company Limited, fertilisers and logistics through Baconco Co., Ltd., and coal-related businesses through Merton Group (Cyprus) Limited and Unique Mining Services Public Company Limited.

Asian Countries Agree to Pursue Treaty on Dry Ports to Promote Regional Integration

2010-01-02T01:38:00.000-08:00

Transport Ministers Forum concludes first session at ESCAP in Bangkok

Transport ministers from across Asia have agreed to work on a treaty to promote the development of dry ports – inland transport and logistics hubs – to spur intraregional trade and growth.

The agreement came at the end of the first session of the Forum of Asian Ministers of Transport, which concluded today at the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) in Bangkok.

In the Bangkok Declaration on Transport Development in Asia, the ministers agreed to develop an intergovernmental agreement on dry ports to provide connectivity and integration of the Asian Highway and the Trans-Asian Railway networks, creating an international integrated intermodal transport and logistics system.

Under the auspices of ESCAP, countries in the region have already adopted two intergovernmental agreements - on the Asian Highway and the Trans-Asian Railway networks - to promote the development and standardization of 141,000 kilometers of roadways and 114,000 kilometers of railways, linking the continent with Europe and serving as arteries for international trade, especially for landlocked countries in the region.

Dry ports will play an important role in integrating modes of transport, reducing border crossing and transit delays, facilitating the use of energy-efficient and lower emission means of transport, and creating new clusters of economic growth and job creation in local areas.

The first session of the Forum brought together 27 countries in Asia. In his opening message on Monday, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stated that “enhanced regional connectivity is especially important” in addressing development issues.

In her opening address, Noeleen Heyzer, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of ESCAP, spoke of the vital role of the transport sector in providing physical connectivity required for promoting domestic demand and intraregional trade as new sources of growth.

“The economic crisis has shown that relying mainly on exports to western markets comes with inherent risks. Our region will need to diversify the drivers of growth. This must include strategies for promoting increased intra-regional trade and domestic consumption,” said Dr. Heyzer.

The Forum was created by member governments of ESCAP at their annual meeting last April. During the week-long session, delegates discussed issues pertaining to transport development in the region, including the implementation of the Busan Declaration on Transport Development in Asia and the Pacific, and the Regional Action Programme for Transport Development in Asia and the Pacific.

ETIHAD TO JOIN SUSTAINABLE AVIATION FUEL USERS GROUP

2009-12-15T19:29:00.001-08:00

Etihad Airways has joined the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Users Group (SAFUG), an airline-led industry working group established in 2008 to accelerate the commercialisation and availability of sustainable biofuels.

James Hogan, Etihad Airways’ chief executive, said: ““Etihad recognises the need for step-changes in aviation to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and meet our industry’s carbon reduction goal. We also recognise that any fuel alternatives must be morally, socially and environmentally acceptable, while not compromising the future sustainability of the aviation industry.”

SAFUG members are bound by stringent criteria for the development of non fossil fuels, including the following:

The development of plant sources must be undertaken in a manner that is non-competitive with food, with biodiversity impacts minimised and without jeopardizing drinking water supplies. The total lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions from plant growth, harvesting, processing and end-use should be significantly less than that from fossil sources. In developing economies, development projects should include provisions or outcomes that improve socio-economic conditions for small-scale farmers and their families and that do not require the involuntary displacement of local populations. High conservation value areas and native eco-systems should not be cleared and converted for jet fuel plant source development.

Each SAFUG member has pledged to work through the Roundtable for Sustainable Biofuels (RSB), a global multi-stakeholder initiative consisting of leading environmental organizations, financiers, biofuel developers, biofuel-interested petroleum companies, the transportation sector, developing-world poverty alleviation associations, research entities, and governments.

“Abu Dhabi, our home base, has itself made a strong commitment towards sustainability and in the promotion of renewable energy through the establishment of Masdar City, which will the headquarters of the International Renewable Energy Agency,” Mr Hogan said.
About Etihad Airways

Etihad Airways is the national airline of the United Arab Emirates based in the UAE’s capital, Abu Dhabi. Currently Etihad offers flights to over 55 destinations in the Middle East, Europe, North America, Africa and Asia.

FedEx Named Best Air Cargo Carrier Of The Year

2009-11-20T22:25:00.000-08:00

At Supply Chain Asia Logistics Awards 2009 BANGKOK, November 19, 2009 – FedEx Express (FedEx), a subsidiary of FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) and the world’s largest express transportation company, has won the Air Cargo Carrier Of The Year award at the eighth annual Supply Chain Asia Logistics Awards.

“This award is a testament to our continuous efforts in innovation, in supporting businesses in this region and our dedication to make every FedEx experience outstanding for our customers,” said David L. Cunningham Jr., president, FedEx Asia Pacific.

Organised by Supply Chain Asia magazine, winners of the awards were selected through a two-part judging process that included customers and a panel of industry experts from the regional and global supply chain and logistics industry.

Held last evening at the Raffles Town Club, the awards represent the industry’s recognition of air cargo carriers based on criteria such as the size and span of network, reliability of guaranteed services, IT know-how and systems, level of customer service, the carrier’s ability to handle specialised cargo, approach to security and risk management and approach to sustainability and other CSR issues.

PHOTO: Hardiansjah Rizal, Senior Manager, Operations, FedEx Express Singapore (right) receiving the Supply Chain Asia award for Best Air Cargo Carrier Of The Year 2009 from Wolfgang Hollermann, CEO of Agility Asia Pacific.
About FedEx Express

FedEx Express is the world's largest express transportation company, providing fast and reliable delivery to more than 220 countries and territories. FedEx Express uses a global air-and-ground network to speed delivery of time-sensitive shipments, by a definite time and date with a money-back guarantee.

NOTE TO EDITORS: FedEx press releases are available on the World Wide Web at http://news.fedex.com.

Triple i reports robust air-freight growth

2009-11-12T23:27:00.000-08:00

       The Triple i Logistics Group, a light-asset based integrated logistics service provider, expects robust 30-per-cent growth in its freight business this year, bringing its total revenue for 2009 to Bt1.1 billion, or the same as last year.
       "Focused more clearly on wholesale customers, we recorded a 21-per-cent jump in air-transport business in the first nine months, against a 30-per-cent drop in overall freight rates," said chief financial officer Viraj Nobnomtham.
       The group now manages average air-freight volumes of 1,000 tonnes a month, up from 400 tonnes last year, and expects its air-freight volumes to grow to more than 1,500 tonnes a month next year, he said.
       The group's revenue contribution from air freight this year has been 48 per cent, up from 38 per cent last year; sea freight, 41 per cent, down from 51 per cent; and logistics, 11 per cent, even with last year.
       For sea freight and logistics, the group performed better than the overall market in the first nine months of the year. Its sea freight volumes dropped 30 per cent year on year to a value of Bt311 million, while overall freight rates fell 40 per cent.
       In its logistics service, the group recorded a 1-per-cent year-on-year drop to Bt88 million in the first nine months.
       Viraj said the group was continually adjusting its business to react to global changes, enabling its performance to beat the industry average. In the first nine months, the value of Thailand's trade abroad fell. Exports and imports recorded negative growth of minus 23 per cent and minus 35 per cent, respectively.
       "Luckily for us, due to the expansion of Thai AirAsia's routes to many destinations in China, we have grown despite those conditions," he said.
       CEO Tipp Dalal said the group had adjusted its business plan in response to an expected global economic recovery next year by focusing on Asean + 6, especially China, Australia and India, plus Africa, considered to be the world's fastest-growing markets.
       He said as well as Thai AirAsia, the Triple i Logistics Group planned to become a general sales agent for cargo with other airlines.
       "We are in talks with a few airlines and expect results this year," he said, adding that this would support the group's existing air-freight services.
       The group's sea-freight business has been hard hit by the global financial crisis, which resulted in a huge fall in orders placed around the world. This applies especially to the US, one of the world's largest consumers and Thailand's major export market, which has reduced its orders in the past six months, he said.
       "However, there are potential markets that have bright prospects next year, involving exports of food, frozen food and printing products and imports of pharmaceuticals and electrical appliances," Tipp said.
       Triple i believes both air- and sea-freight rates will rise 15-20 per cent next year, helping its revenue reach Bt1.4 billion. This is because the supply side in air and sea space has been substantially reduced, he said.
       "The county's container-freight volumes should recover next year, buoyed by the recovery of the world economy," Tipp said, predicting that the volume should swing back to the same levels as those recorded last year.
       For its logistics business, Tipp said the group would focus more on cross-border transport, expecting this to become "a rising star" in the next five years as more trade developed between the Indochinese countries and other Asean members.

TNT profit dips further

2009-11-04T06:55:00.001-08:00

       TNT, Europe's second largest mail and delivery company, beat quarterly profit forecasts thanks to cost cuts, and said it saw early signs of recovery at its Express unit, although mail volumes remain weak.
       The Dutch logistics company which,like Britain's Royal Mail and Germany's Deutsche Post, has been battling to restructure its domestic mail operations,posted a 14.4% drop in operating profit in the third quarter, its fifth consecutive quarterly slump in earnings. However,the cost cuts meant operating margins stabilised compared with last year.
       "In this quarter the trading environment has stabilised further, with some early signs of positive underlying developments," chief executive Peter Bakker said in a statement.
       "TNT in the third quarter has delivered clearly better than expected results, primarily thanks to a solid execution of its cost savings plans," Petercam analyst Thijs Berkelder said in a note.
       "The first four weeks of the fourth quarter show a trend of improvement in the volumes of its express business,however volumes in its mail division are expected to fall at an increased rate,"TNT said.
       The company has been trying for several quarters to improve the profitability of its Express business while attempting to slim down its Dutch mail unit.
       Its earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) were 179 million ($263.8 million)on sales of 2.48 billion, down 7.6% yearon -year. Analysts were expecting EBIT of 159 million on revenues of 2.48 billion, according to a Reuters poll.
       TNT's main focus is on keeping unions at bay to avoid painful strikes of the kind that have paralysed British peer Royal Mail, while hoping that it has left the recession behind and that the economic recovery is sustainable.
       Like many competitors TNT has been struggling to cope with falling consumer demand while coming to terms with the liberalisation of the mail market.
       After seeing the operating margin in its Express division drop to 2% in the second quarter from 8.9% a year earlier,TNT posted a margin of 5.1% in the third quarter, on par with a 6% margin a year earlier.
       The company achieved this by removing 128 million from its cost base during the quarter.

Magnificent seven

2009-10-20T21:56:00.000-07:00

       In the most important, most revered event since the invention of the brontosaurus trap,Microsoft shipped the most incredibly fabulous operating system ever made; the release of Windows 7 also spurred a new generation of personal computers of all sizes at prices well below last month's offers.The top reason Windows 7 does not suck: There is no registered website called Windows7Sucks.com
       Kindle e-book reader maker Amazon.com and new Nook e-book reader vendor Barnes and Noble got it on; B&N got great reviews for the "Kindle killer"Nook, with dual screens and touch controls so you can "turn" pages, plays MP3s and allows many non-B&N book formats, although not the Kindle one;Amazon then killed the US version of its Kindle in favour of the international one, reduced its price to $260(8,700 baht), same as the Nook; it's not yet clear what you can get in Thailand with a Nook, but you sure can't (yet) get much, relatively speaking, with a Kindle;but here's the biggest difference so far,which Amazon.com has ignored: the Nook lets you lend e-books to any other Nook owner, just as if they were paper books; the borrowed books expire on the borrower's Nook in two weeks.
       Phone maker Nokia of Finland announced it is suing iPhone maker Apple of America for being a copycat; lawyers said they figure Nokia can get at least one, probably two per cent (retail) for every iPhone sold by Steve "President for Life" Jobs and crew via the lawsuit,which sure beats working for it -$6 (200 baht) to $12(400 baht) on 30 million phones sold so far, works out to $400 million or 25 percent of the whole Apple empire profits during the last quarter;there were 10 patent thefts, the Finnish executives said, on everything from moving data to security and encryption.
       Nokia of Finland announced that it is one month behind on shipping its new flagship N900 phone, the first to run on Linux software; delay of the $750(25,000 baht) phone had absolutely no part in making Nokia so short that it had to sue Apple, slap yourself for such a thought.
       Tim Berners-Lee, who created the World Wide Web, said he had one regret:the double slash that follows the "http:"in standard web addresses; he estimated that 14.2 gazillion users have wasted 48.72 bazillion hours typing those two keystrokes, and he's sorry; of course there's no reason to ever type that, since your browser does it for you when you type "www.bangkokpost.com" but Tim needs to admit he made one error in his lifetime.
       The International Telecommunication Union of the United Nations, which doesn't sell any phones or services, announced that there should be a mobile phone charger that will work with any phone; now who would ever have thought of that, without a UN body to wind up a major study on the subject?;the GSM Association estimates that 51,000 tonnes of chargers are made each year in order to keep companies able to have their own unique ones.
       The Well, Doh Award of the Week was presented at arm's length to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development; the group's deputy secretary-general Petko Draganov said that developing countries will miss some of the stuff available on the Internet if they don't install more broadband infrastructure; a report that used your tax baht to compile said that quite a few people use mobile phones but companies are more likely to invest in countries with excellent broadband connections; no one ever had thought of this before, right?
       Sun Microsystems , as a result of the Oracle takeover, said it will allow 3,000 current workers never to bother coming to work again; Sun referred to the losses as "jobs," not people; now the fourth largest server maker in the world, Sun said it lost $2.2 billion in its last fiscal year; European regulators are holding up approval of the Oracle purchase in the hope of getting some money in exchange for not involving Oracle in court cases.
       The multi-gazillionaire and very annoying investor Carl Icahn resigned from the board at Yahoo ; he spun it as a vote of confidence, saying current directors are taking the formerly threatened company seriously; Yahoo reported increased profits but smaller revenues in the third quarter.
       The US House of Representatives voted to censure Vietnam for jailing bloggers; the non-binding resolution sponsored by southern California congresswoman Loretta Sanchez said the Internet is "a crucial tool for the citizens of Vietnam to be able to exercise their freedom of expression and association;"Hanoi has recently jailed at least nine activists for up to six years apiece for holding pro-democracy banners. Iran jailed blogger Hossein "Hoder" Derakshan for 10 months - in solitary confinement.

NEW PROJECTS UP FOR DELIBERATION

2009-10-13T17:11:00.000-07:00

       Another batch of projects worth Bt240 billion will be submitted for Cabinet approval today amid new reports of graft involving the government's second stimulus package.
       Finance Minister Korn Chatikavanij yesterday said he would today propose the Cabinet expand the second stimulus package from Bt1.06 trillion approved earlier to about Bt1.3 trillion, to be implemented over three years.
       The ministry will also ask the Cabinet to increase investment projects under an emergency borrowing fund by more Bt50 billion, leading to planned total spending next year of up to Bt350 billion, he said.
       An improvement in government revenue in recent months leaves more money available for investment, he said.
       The ministry plans to disburse the first tranche of funds for at least 85 per cent of the projects, he said.
       New projects ecpected to be included in today's proposal are the Bt40 billion farm price-guarantee scheme, Bt23 billion supplementary budget to support local governments and Bt3 billion housing fund know as Baan Mankhong for people living in slums.
       The projects under Thai Khemakhaeng already approved by the Cabinet worth Bt200 billion would be implemented during this and next year, he said.
       In response to complaints about corruption, the ministry has opened a website at www.tkk2555.com to reveal details of all projects to the public. People can also report irregularities in the investment projects via publicwatch@tkk2555.com.
       Korn yesterday met with senior officials to discuss the transparency of the public investment projects.
       The next phase of investment will focus on economic restructuring. The bill to finance it with Bt400 billion loans is in Parliament.
       The next phase will be put into rail projects to improve the logistics system, aimed at lowering logistics costs from 20 per cent of gross domestic product to about 15 per cent.
       The ministry will soon ask the Cabinet to consider another package to develop the capital market, which includes tax incentives, Korn added.

Time for decisiveness on logistics

2009-10-02T21:05:00.000-07:00

       If Thailand wants to achieve its hope of becoming the logistics centre for Southeast Asia, the government must act decisively and rapidly to develop the infrastructure for logistics, said former finance minister M.R. Pridiyathorn Devakula.
       M.R. Pridiyathorn, also a former Bank of Thailand governor, wants to establish a decision-making body to develop local infrastructure and industrial sector competitiveness.
       "The country's economic competitiveness relies very much on logistics costs. The government already knows what to do but the decision makers are still very slow to do anything," he said.
       He made the comments at a seminar called "Logistics Asia 2009: Repositioning Thailand in the Global Value Chain",organised by the Thailand Management Association (TMA) in collaboration with the Thai Chamber of Commerce (TCC)and the Transport Institute of Chulalongkorn University to discuss the future direction of local logistics development.
       M.R. Pridiyathorn said the economic crisis shifted the world's economic growth engine to Asia. That could translate into brisk trading traffic in the region.
       To accommodate this change, logistics cost reduction would promote Thailand as a logistics hub to serve this upsurge in goods transport.
       "Cheaper cost will support local in-dustrial competitiveness and attract more foreign investment to the country,"M.R. Pridiyathorn said.
       "There are lots of projects that are in different stages - some are already planned and ready to be implemented - but what is needed is a decisionmaker who has the guts to make a decision."
       The country's logistics system relies on road for over 80% of traffic, with 2%marine transport and the rest through rail. But road transport is the most expensive and fuel-thirsty, so Thailand needs to develop other modes, he said.
       The first step is developing sea transport as it is the easiest and can be done by private sector investment.
       "Two important port routes are those linking Laem Chabang and Bangkok to the South. For rail, more dual-track routes are needed while a rail extension to link Thailand with southern China would also improve our trade with the giant economy," he said.
       Extension of airport facilities to accommodate more human traffic and cargo also needs to go ahead.
       "A more open-eyed approach at how Thailand would play as a regional logistics centre also needs to be considered,"said M.R. Pridiyathorn.
       "We need a tool to link the east and west, linking the Gulf of Thailand and the Andaman Sea through a landbridge.Once accomplished, crude transport from the Middle East to Korea and China will be able to go through this route.This will allow us to be a regional transport route in Asia."
       He added that infrastructure such as a landbridge and the long-delayed Southern Seaboard would also be crucial in accommodating more investment in petroleum and related sectors such as petrochemicals.
       "Establishing the link would also open our export routes to Africa and the Middle East, which are growing markets.China would also be interested in using this route to provide to emerging markets," he said.
       He also criticised the government for paying too little attention to economic issues, adding that the Map Ta Phut court order that halted 76 projects was the result of indecisive action to tackle pollution problems by past governments.
       "The government must take the case as a lesson for future infrastructure development and also to win back investment," said M.R. Pridiyathorn.

NATIONAL LOGISTICS STRATEGY "CRUCIAL TO GMS SUCCESS"

2009-10-02T21:04:00.000-07:00

       The government should draw up a national strategic logistics plan as Thailand is part of the global value chain, repositioning itself as a corridor in the Greater Mekong Subregion, a major logistics firm said yesterday.
       Speaking at the "Logistics Asia 2009" seminar, SCG Logistics Management managing director Bhanumas Srisukh said: "The government should also look at Singapore as an ally reather than as a competitor."
       He said the major role the government should speedily play was easing the multiplicity of dated rules and regulations relating to transportation, as well as investing more in important infrastructure such as road and rail systems.
       The latter would link Thailand with GMS countries, including southern China(Yunnan), Burma, Laos and Vietnam, so that the Kingdom can be a corridor to enhance trade between the GMS region and the rest of the world, transporting goods by road to Laem Chabang Port, which can them connect to Singapore before shipping goods around the globe.
       "Developing missing links from the GMS to Thailand would not only enhance the competitiveness of our exports, but also boost international trade. This would be instead of building Pak Bara Port in Satun, for which the country has drawn up a strategic logistics plan to use the port as a point of exit for the Andaman coast to link China with India," said Bhanumas.
       He said that for this strategy, the country was being seen as Singapore's competitor, whereas in fact it was not ready to compete.
       He added that as Singapore had develooped its logistics management system to global standards, Thailand should improve its own logistics standard to support that of Singapore as part of a logistics value chain.
       Considering the Kingdom's strengths, Thailand has a central location with a coastline on two sides, is service-minded, has an extensive road network, low labour costs and a large labour pool, plus the ability to connect transportation with China,he said.
       However, its weaknesses are the small size of its seaports, limited rail network, lack of skilled human resources and out-of-date rules and regulations.
       Oh Bee Lock, senior vice president for corporate planning at Singapore's PSA Corp, said he regarded Thailand as an ally of Singapore, not a competitor. The two countries. therefore, can connect their transportation at the same standard level to enhance freight between Asean and other regions more rapidly and at a competitive cost.
       The port of Singapore connects to 600 ports in more than 120 countries. PSA has 28 ports in 16 countries wit annual revenue of 4.4 billion Singaporean dollars (Bt104 billion) and throughput of 63 milliion containers (20-foot equivalent units).
       "Logistics Asia 2009" was cohosted by the Thailand Management Association, the Thai Chamber of Commerce and the Transportation Institute.

A measure of justice at last

2009-09-24T23:59:00.001-07:00

       After almost three decades of lonely struggle and much to the chagrin of her hostile neighbours, Grandma Hai Khanjanta has finally won compensation from the state for the damage rendered to her farmland in Ubon Ratchathani from a poorly thought out irrigation dam project.
       The Cabinet on Tuesday decided to award the 80-yearold woman - who in 2004 was named "the great fighter mum" by Mahidol University -1.2 million baht in compensation. Two other villagers affected by the project were also compensated.
       The promised 1.2 million baht is a very modest amount and cannot be regarded as fair, given the hardships from deprivation of a normal livelihood which Mrs Hai's family has had to endure throughout the past several years since her farmland was flooded.Even though the land was reclaimed following the dam's demolition on the orders of the Thaksin administration, it remains useless for cultivation. Still, Mrs Hai had the grace and decency to offer her heartfelt thanks to the Democrat-led government for paying attention to the plight of poor people like herself. She said she would not press for further demands.
       However, this "happy ending" story of Mrs Hai and her two neighbours represents just a fraction of many other similar cases of rural people being deprived of a livelihood, robbed of their traditional farmland or forced into hardship by so-called development projects which often were decided from the top down and implemented without prior consultation with the local communities.These include the villagers affected by the construction of the Rasi Salai dam in Si Sa Ket and the Pak Moon fishermen whose livelihood has been completely wrecked by the Pak Moon dam.
       Negligence on the part of state agencies and their disregard for the public's right to participate in the decision-making process in the management of natural resources by the state, have been blamed for many of the top-down development projects which were later proven to have been badly thought-out, falling short of their objectives or simply not worthy of the cost. For example, the Rasi Salai dam which was supposed to irrigate the dry northeastern farmland, has instead caused widespread salination of the soil, on top of some 30,000 rai of wetlands being wiped out during construction, not to mention the human suffering of hundreds who are still demanding justice.
       The case of Ms Usa Rotpongkasem, a victim of the Klong Toey chemical fire in 1991, is another glaring example of the lack of compassion from state agencies,in this particular case the Port Authority of Thailand,for the victims of its gross negligence and its lack of accountability. The former Ramkhamhaeng University student who is steadily losing her eyesight and is suffering from cancer as a result of her exposure to chemical posioning, had to take her case to the Civil Court to seek compensation from the PAT. It was through sheer tenacity and determination that she endured the lengthy legal hurdles and won the case, with the court faulting the PAT for gross negligence and ordering it to pay her about 4 million baht in compensation. The PAT wanted to appeal the verdict but dropped the idea only because of the personal intervention of then deputy transport minister Pracha Maleenont.
       The plight of Grandma Hai, Ms Usa and many other poor villagers could have been avoided or considerably mitigated, if only the state agencies involved had been more receptive to their views before deciding on projects which seriously disrupted their livelihoods.

AN ENTREPRENEUR OF ONE'S OWN LIFE

2009-09-24T23:56:00.000-07:00

       Po Chung, co-founder of DHL International Asia-Pacific, discusses his "entrepreneurial life journey" and describes the attributes of a successful entrepreneur, particularly during what he calls "the first 10 yards". The Nation's Pichaya Changsorn reports.

       Even if you have never been a business manager, you are already the manager of your own life, says Po Chung, co-founder of DHL International Asia-Pacific, who now teaches entrepreneurship at the University of Hong Kong.
       "Every one of us is the entrepreneur of our own life," he told a group of students on a recent visit to Bangkok. "Nobody has lived your life before; you're the first one. So, you can do anything. You can start-up. You can manage [a business to become] a good asset or you can be as poor as you can be, not only in a money sense but also in a spiritual sense."
       Chung, who co-authored the book "The First 10 Yards: The Five Dynamics of Entrepreneurship", was lecturing to about 40 students from 13 European countries who took part in the Asian University's "Summer University" programme.
       "Many people are very rich in money but very poor in spirit," he said.
       "Since life is an entrepreneurial journey and you're the entrepreneur of your life, by understanding, designing, creating and managing your journey, you can control your future."
       Giving his life as an example of an "entrepreneurial life-long journey", Chung said his early life was not so affluent because his father lost his businesses during the Communist "liberation war" and the family had to escape from China to Macau. He had to drop out of school and went fishing for two years because his father ran out of money when he was in the third grade.
       Then life became better. Chung moved to Hong Kong and was eventually able to join a well-known boarding school, St Stephen's College, and later went to Hong Kong University. He was doing well until he overslept and missed a history examination. His father then sent him to study at the University of the Seven Seas, which was actually a ship that hosted teachers and students who had to sail around the world while studying.
       However, Chung had to change his university again because his father wanted him to study science subjects, instead of history or geography. So he signed up for fisheries management at Humboldt State University in Arcata, California.
       Chung said that although he never practised fisheries management one day in his life. He was able to apply the knowledge he gained to his life's work.
       "I stole shamelessly everything I knew about fisheries and used it in my businesses. I was able to make the 'cross over', and I've been stealing even since: when I talk with people, I asked them questions, [get them] to tell their ideas, and I convert [these] into my businesses."
       The courier business was not his first job after graduation. He worked for Topper Toys, a toy manufacturer which he found gave little attention to its workers because "everything she had to do, she could learn in 15 minutes. So, if she didn't come to work, they could easily find someone to replace her.
       "In courier services, you can't do that because the courier drives the truck and he's out for three hours. [And while he's out] he can decide either to smile or not to smile. It's not like in McDonald's, [where] everything is under one roof. If a staff member doesn't smile, his supervisor can see he doesn't smile. But if [the courier] doesn't smile, nobody at our company knows.
       "So we have to make sure the courier is happy in his life when he walks into a customer's reception area. He has to remember the name of the lady at the reception desk, and pretty soon they will remember his name.
       "We paid attention not only to how they were dressed, but made sure they were dating - I had to attend a lot of weddings," Chung said, with a grin.
       The opportunity to launch the courier service came after two and a half years with Topper Toys. Chung had been promoted to operations manager, with responsibility for logistics and supply chain management. The skills and knowledge he gained from the toy firm readied him for the moment when Adrian Dalsey, a co-founder of DHL, flew to Hong Kong to offer Topper Toys a cutting-edge delivery service.
       After only a few meetings, Chung succeeded in persuading Dalsey to fly back to his US headquarters and convince his partners to award Chung the rights to run DHL's business across the Asia-Pacific region. Chung began his entrepreneurial journey with DHL with US$50,000, only two customers, a secretary, no car and basically nothing else.
       During DHL's first 15 years, from 1969-84, the firm expanded into 125 countries - or a new country every five weeks, on average. One of its key success factors was picking the right kind of employees.
       "There was one formula in picking our people: we were hiring the kind of people we were willing to follow, others were willing to follow; others were willing to partner with."
       Chung said DHL "scanned for viruses on the candidate's personal operating systems" such as their beliefs, values, behaviour, likes, dislikes, integrity and character.
       "Basically, [it's about] who are you. Can people trust you? Are you unkind, unfair, shameless, corrupt, rude, a liar, unwise, disloyal, cowardly, a repeater of mistakes, or unforgiving? "
       There was also another lesson: getting the right name is very important. Unlike some of its competitors, Chung said, DHL had an initial advantage because its name was easy to pronounce in any language.
       "That's why, when I picked the names for my children, I made sure people could see them and were able to read them. Yet they are not common names."
       Chung said entrepreneurs had to have a basic quality which he called a "sleep factor".
       "Many people think about risk factors, and I admit risk taking is important. But you also have to be able to 'silo' your problems, [leaving yourself the capacity] to go to sleep, even when you get caught," he said, citing his own experience during an initial stage when he was arrested by the police for infringing the Hong Kong Post Office's exclusive right to carry letters in and out of the colony. DHL successfully defended the case.
       "There are two things that business school cannot teach an entrepreneur: the first is focus, or 'staying with a problem until it gets done', and the other is passion. An entrepreneur must have enough of these two qualities," he said.
       "We have also found that most business schools teach marketing, but do not teach selling. If you're an entrepreneur and you don't know how to sell, it won't work out, because you won't have money or anything else."
       Also, Chung advised, don't take an MBA course.
       "If you want to become an entrepreneur, don't study for an MBA. Do it [become an entrepreneur] first and come back to take an executive MBA later, because MBA [studies] fill you with all kinds of junk. It's wrong timing - like teaching you to drive when you're 60," he said.
       "Me, Inc": Looking at life as a business
       People regard as "business" only that part of life that involves money. But, in reality, everything is business, Chung said.
       "Your life is business and you're the entrepreneur. You're in the business of providing personal services to anyone around you. You're your most important customer and supplier."
       Chung suggested that his students write a "business plan" for their lives, taking into account the needs of their "customers" and "suppliers", who can be anyone from parents to offspring, siblings, friends, business partners or bosses, and all of their "suppliers".
       "Consider what they want. Is it moral support, physical help, mental help, social help, advice, companionship, just being there...?"
       He said the students' business plans should include a marketing plan for managing their "personal brand", which took into account their "service quality", as well as their tangible and intangible assets.
       "The management team is you and your 'tribe', and the returns are 'psychic income' and 'emotional profit', he said.
       Chung also urged students to give and take, while staying away from "net takers".
       Ten pieces of advice, in hindsight
       In concluding his lecture, Chung looked back on his years as an entrepreneur to offer 10 pieces of advice, in hindsight:
       1. Spend time with your loved ones before they go away.
       2. Follow my life's secret formula: understand, design, create and manage. Then you will control your future.
       3. If you want to be an entrepreneur, don't get an MBA - get an EMBA.
       4. Don't be in a hurry to get married, to either a spouse or a company. Ninety per cent of your misery or happiness will come from one person, so you want to know more about people in general before you select the one with whom you will spend the rest of your life.
       5. Set up a life-long learning programme.
       6. A bad break is not the end of the world.
       7. Hustle while you wait: luck is when opportunity meets preparedness.
       8. Leadership is about trust. Everything else comes second. People will follow you only if they know you will not hurt them.
       9. If you don't want people to know about it, don't do it. Live by the golden rule: "don't lie, don't cheat, don't steal."
       10. Live off your parents for as long as you can. Buy a house as a multigenerational effort. Property prices will continue to go up. You will need all the money you can make to do the things you would like to do in your life. There are three Fs for investors: friends, family and fools.

Researchers tap into RFID to cut costs

2009-09-24T23:55:00.001-07:00

       New technologies for real-time vehicle tracking will play a big role in lowering expensive logistics costs, improving transport management and the country's competitiveness, according to the National Innovation Agency (NIA).
       Logistics costs as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) in Thailand are as high as 19%, compared with 9.4% in the United States and single digits or low double digits in many other developed countries.
       Given that Thailand relies on exports for more than 60% of its GDP, logistics costs are far too high, industry leaders have said for years.
       The NIA has supported researchers pursuing innovations to reduce costs, a notable example being B-Move, which was a co-developed by Southeast Asia Technology Co and Burapha University's Logistics Department.
       The system, is based on radio frequency identification (RFID) for tracking vehicles to monitor transport.
       "The technology can not only be adapted to use in transport management in order to raise the efficiency of transport but also to lower transport costs and save time," said Supachai Lorlowhakarn,the NIA director.
       It can also be used in public transport for managing bus schedules and routes.
       A tag installed on each vehicle sends signals to RFID readers placed in telephone booths, which act as receivers.The information is then transferred to a control centre through an Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line or ADSL, which sends data over copper telephone lines faster than a conventional voiceband modem can provide.
       The NIA underwrote half of the project's cost of 3.12 million baht.
       The agency has also supported the use of RFID in the shrimp industry to create a 3D barcode on packaging. It identifies the origin, quality and safety of the product from the duration of transport from the farm to the factory, to what kind of food is fed to the shrimp.This prevents farmers from using harmful substances, said Dr Supachai.
       The project worth 5.96 million baht in total includes another technology called C-Move, a tracking system, developed by DX Innovation Co and partially funded by the NIA. It uses a global positioning system or GPS device to track vehicles that run across the country.
       Unlike B-Move which targets product transport within the city, C-Move looks after larger networks, such as transport to and from different provinces. Although B-Move's RFID technology has a higher quality, it can be used in a limited space whereas GPS uses a satellite system that allows a wider scale of usage.
       The two projects were commercialised two months ago.
       On the distribution side, a bidding website acts as a matchmaking service by allowing customers to see the avail-ability of vehicles that can transport products from one place to another.
       The current transport management system, which is not integrated into a network, means shippers cannot use the same vehicles for different products.
       Continuous trips can lower energy costs by reducing the number of empty trips, which account for up to 46% of all trips for land transport of products.
       Eighty-nine percent of all product transport in Thailand is by land, resulting in a total of 71.74 million trips per year.

ECU LINE MARKS 10 YEARS IN THAILAND WITH NEW SERVICE

2009-09-20T20:08:00.000-07:00

       Ecu Line (Thailand) will expand its less-than-container-load (LCL) maritime cargo service to help exporters in the Amata City Industrial Estate and surrounding industrial parks save on logistics costs.
       Managing director Viraj Nobnomtham said yesterday that the company had been offering its new service for two months.
       It has rented the logistics centre of its partner, Japan-based Via Logistics, as its container freight station (CFS) for checking commercial cargoes before shipping.
       It uses Via Logistics' vehicles to pick up shipments at its customers' factories and warehouse facilities and inspects them before trucking them to Bangkok Port or Laem Chabang Port.
       "If we get enough volume, we'll use this platform for CFS expansion in other industrial estates," he said.
       The new range of services was launched to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the company's operations in Thailand this year.
       Ecu Line was started up in 1987 to serve forwarding industry customers based in Belgium and Europe.
       Ecu Line Thailand is a 51:49 venture of local logistics firm Tripple-i Group and Ecu Line Group, which is majority-owned by India-based Allcargo Global Logistics.
       Viraj said that after Ecu Line Thailand's parent was taken over by Allcargo Global Logistics, registered in Mumbai in 2006, the company has been forced to concentrate more on cash-flow management and human resources development.
       "We are reporting our financial status quo more frequently than ever, with informative reports in depth as well as having to build any successor who can act as managing director or be promoted to managing director," he said
       Ecu Line Thailand operates inbound LCL cargo services from Belgium's hub to Bangkok twice a week and outbound shipping from Bangkok to Belgium one trip a week.
       Ecu Line's Thai unit posted 5-per-cent growth in LCL cargo services by sea, marking it as one of the top 10 performers of the Ecu-Line Group.
       Ecu Line Group recorded a 20-per-cent drop year-on-year in sales and a 10-per-cent drop in cubic metres in the first seven months of this year.
       This resulted from an effort to focus on markets with growth potential such as India and the Philippines as well as on developing new markets like Mexico.
       "This could compensate for the loss of full container load (FCL) cargo services with an increase in LCL cargo services," he said.
       The group's demand for shipping in Europe and the US shrank by 20 per cent in the first half of this year.
       This quarter, sea freight volume has dipped [by only] 15 per cent on year due mainly to the resumption of orders from industry to replace depleted stocks.
       "This was a better situation than the depressing first quarter," he said.
       Sea freight activities next quarter should also be better, he said.
       The company expects its LCL cargo business to grow by 5 per cent to a total of 1,200 20-foot equivalent unit (TEU) containers this year.
       Last year, Ecu Line recorded 100,000 20-foot equivalent unit (ETU) containers or 2.5 million cubic metres globally for LCL cargoes.
       Ecu Line Group is the world's market leader in non-vessel operating common-carrier services, with more than 120 offices in over 60 countries. It is a specialist in consolidation and groupage services by sea, air and land in especially the LCL maritime freight business.

DAMCO TO OFFER ONE-STOP SERVICE

2009-09-16T20:32:00.001-07:00

       Damco Thailand, which from now will provide total logistics solution services under a single brand - Damco - used as globally, expects its freight forwarding volumes to grow by 10 per cent from last year.

       "The Damco name will support our goal to become one of the top international logistics firms that enable to offer one-stop logistics in Thailand in the next five years," said Kiattichai Pitpreecha, managing director Thailand for Damco Thailand.
       The move is part of the integration of all operations between two international logistics providers, Maersh Logistics and Damco Kiattichai, that commenced on September 7.
       The company's supply chain management activities previously were branded as Maersk Logistics while its forwarding activities was branded as Damco.
       Damco Thailand managing director added that the Damco name would also give the two companies to build their own identity while remaining it as important part of the Denmark-based AP Moller-Maersk Group.
       Not only will the integration with a single brand help customers reduce confusions, but also increase the company to provide a board range of services, said Kiattichai.
       In customers' perception, Damco is renowned as a leading freight forwarder in especially to sea freight forwarding with strong alliance network of more than 20 shipping lines. However, Kiattichai said the integration would not undermine its strength of sea freight forwarding. Conversely, this should support its strength. For airfreight forwarding, it has strong partners of more than 10 airlines.
       "We are also a market leader in supply chain management segment, in which there are only 6-7 key players," said he, adding that major clients are Nike, Reebok, Adidas and Wallmart.
       "For freight forwarding business, we have been slightly affected from the global economic crisis as being shown in 2009's nine-month volumes that is still on track of 10 per cent growth target," said Kiattichai.
       He said Damco has recorded an average of 20 per cent growth in freight forwarding business for five years.
       In Thailand, Damco is one of the top international logistics companies for supply chain management and freight forwarding. It handles freight volumes of more than 1,200 containers a week and air cargo volume of 3.6 million kilos a year. The company's warehouse space is about 30,000 square metres.
       The company provides services to more than 1,500 customers that are in retail, electrical goods, food, fast moving consumer goods, automotive, chemical and garment and footwear industries. It employs a total of 250 employees.
       In 2008, Damco had a net turn-over of US$ 2.8 billion globally, shipped more than half a million TEUs ocean freight, air freighted over 60,000 tonnes, and handled over 50 million CBMs (equivalent to 2 million TEU) for our supply chain management customers.

Maersk unit merges with Damco

2009-09-16T20:31:00.001-07:00

       A.P.-Moller-Maersk, the Danish shipping multinational, has merged two subsidiaries under the Damco brand to expand its customer base and increase revenue.
       Maersk Logistics, a leader in supply chain management services, will now be part of a single business unit with its sister, Damco.
       Damco is a leading global freightforwarding services arm of A.P. Moller.The integration of these companies under one brand will allow Damco to offer more integrated logistics services to both sets of brand-loyal customers and to reduce complexity.
       "The integration will allow us to be a one-stop service provider for customers,whereas only a few players in the market can offer integrated service so far. It will also allow us to develop other logistics services to better respond to consumers'demand," said Kiattichai Pitpreecha,Damco Thailand's managing director.
       The new entity combines Damco's freight forwarding services - which include ocean freight, sea freight, custom clearance and tracking - with Maersk's services, such as supply chain management, consultancy, warehouses and distribution. The brand integration took effect early this month.
       Mr Kiattichai hopes the enlarged customer base from combining Damco's and Maersk's clients will boost local operations next year.
       Together, Damco and Maersk have grown by an average of 20% a year in the past five years.
       "Though market conditions are expected to shrink our growth to 10% this year, we hope 20% growth will resume next year partly from the integration,"he said.
       Next year's growth forecast and an improved margin will be achieved if the global economy gains as much as many analysts have projected, he said.
       Damco hopes its strong presence in the Asia-Pacific, considered an emerging market, will enable it to gain from the global recovery. However, a crude price surge would be a risk factor.
       Damco forecasts a growth rate of only 10% this year from shrinking export markets affected by the global slump,said Mr Kiattichai.
       "A smaller cake means fiercer competition and that has narrowed our margin by between 10% and 25%, depending on market size at each period of time.But we managed to maintain growth while other operators are recording contractions," he said.
       Diversifying customer and industry base, increasing sales activities to promote brand awareness and maintaining good service to keep customers are the key to growth, said Mr Kiattichai.
       The company also plans to improve its services in warehousing and distribution and expand freight forwarding.
       "We want to be a market leader in these services as well as supply chain management," he said.

"Thai-European Forum 2009" Thailand's first Thai-European business forum

2009-09-15T18:39:00.000-07:00

       "Thai Ministry of Commerce is to promote Thailand's potential as a leader in the food, logistics and alternative energy sectors by organizing the "Thai-European forum 2009" (TEF 2009), a business forum for Thai and European businesspersons, for the first time in Thailand on September 17-18, 2009 at Muang Thong Thani.
       Porntiva Nakasai, minister of commerce,revealed that the Ministry is organizing the Thai-European Forum 2009 to boost and recover Thailand's export sector as quickly as possible. The European Union (EU) is a huge market consisting of 27-member states and is still in the process of adding new members. The European Commission expects that the European economy will fully recover by 2011. Today, Thailand's exports to the EU rank second.
       "The Ministry of Commerce realizes the importance of this market,"said Porntiva. "We will add value to our trade and in vestment, encourage business representatives from Thailand and Europe to match and exchange their ideas, reinforce the confidence of investors, and boost the positive image of Thailand among overseas investors. The Thai-European Forum 2209 will serve these aims."
       The event will be a business forum for Thailand and more than 20 European countries. It will be the first time for such a public private sector forum in Thailand that will foster consultation and exchange of ideas on issues of trade and investment. At the same time, it will act as a stage to promote Thailand's potential in food safety, as a logistics hub of ASEAN and as a place welcoming alternative energy investment. On September 18, several foreign academics and business entrepreneurs will deliver lectures, and representatives from EU regulations and how to approach the EU's new markets.
       "We expect over 800 persons from the private sector, Thai entreprenerus, European business persons and academics of many countries in the EU and EFTA to join the event resulting in increased business negotiation between the two regions. Participants can gain knowledge and an understanding of the regulations in preparation forfurther business. It can also activate and increase the export volume from Thailand to Europe," Porntiva said.
       The event will feature trade and investment exhinitions from 18 embassies, products and information from leading European companies, successful Thai-European ventrues, and products from the various regions of Thailand exported overseas under the strategic project, "Local to Global", to export domestic products from the Thai private sector.
       Please reserve your seat at: www.thai-european.com or Tel. 02-933-0120 tollfree. See you on September 17-18, 2009 at Royal Jubilee Challenger, Impact Muang Thong Thani.
       Ministry of Commerce www.moc.go.th

CALL TO IMPROVE LOGISTICS SERVICES

2009-09-13T21:52:00.000-07:00

       Logistics service providers should improve their services and be ready to cash in as the world economy recovers, the International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations (Fiata) has urged.
       William M Gottlieb, president of Fiata, said last week that while the world economy is slowly recovering, he wants logistics services providers to review and restructure their organisations as well as develop human resources.
       He said they should not only be blaming external factors such as rules and regulations as a limitation, he added.
       Speaking at the sixth Thailand International Logistics Fair 2009 symposium held by the Department of Export Promotion from September 9-13, Gottlieb said Asean is becoming more important to international trade and investments.
       He expected the upcoming world Fiata forum, which will be held in Thailand in October, to bring participants from around the world to Thailand and turn the spotlight on the country.
       Suriya Khumsuwan, logistics board member under The Federation of Thai Industries (FTI), said the most important factor in logistics service is manpower. If they are well trained, this would translate into cost benefits for companies.
       Mark Millar, managing director of M Power Associates, said the world economy is shigting to Asia, where emerging economies like India and China are making strong progress. China is the fastest-growing economy. Which has significantly increased trade with Asean, including Thailand, since 2006.
       Qingquan Jiang, vice president of Business and Management Department, Xiamen Xingcai Vocational College, said though total logistics value in China dropped 8 per cent for the year to September in 2008 and recorded a slow growth in 2009, total outsourcing expenses of logistics service providers in China since 2006 has been increasing. "China has become a major market for Asean exports," said Jiang, adding that trade between China and Asean is expected to grow 20 per cent annually as demand for growth was spurred by the government's economic stimulus measures.
       Meanwhile, Deputy Commerce Minister Alongkorn Ponlaboot stated that amidst the world economic recession, logistics play an increasingly important role in the export industry.
       All the speakers gave their speeches in separate panels and seminar dates.

CP group's Ayutthaya port to help exporters slash transport costs

2009-09-12T18:23:00.000-07:00

       Exporters in the North and Northeast will be able to export their goods more easily and at lower cost thanks to CP Trading Group's inauguration of the Kingdom's first river port, linking inland industries through waterways.

       Wholly owned by the company, Ayutthaya Port & ICD (inland container depot) will begin commercial operation next month. The Bt700-Bt800-million investment will have four cranes and other advanced facilities with total loading capacity reaching 450,000 twenty-foot-equivalent containers per year.
       The company's second phase of investment of another Bt700 million will focus on establishing its depot on the 300 rai of land on the opposite site of the port at Nakhon Luang, Ayutthaya. The project will start construction next year.
       The investment is aimed not only at facilitating the company's business transportation but also at creating public services and reducing air pollution. It will directly benefit to inland industries and farm crop exporters by connecting road with marine transportation through Laem Chabang Seaport.
       Prasit Damrongchietanon, chief executive officer of the group, said that export by marine transportation will reduce cost by an average of 10-20 per cent.
       Of the company's total loading capacity, 20-30 per cent is designed for its export and the remainder is set for public service. Ayutthaya Port & ICD's staff has already approached potential clients, including manufacturers in industrial estates not only in Ayutthaya but also nearby provinces.
       It is expected that the loading will reach more than 20,000 containers in the first year.
       "We've planned for our future to create related businesses with bigger scale operations through our consolidation strategy including manufacturers and buying agents," Prasit said, adding that the strategy would also encourage the group entering into the freight-forwarding business as well.
       The river port will draw customers from the North and the Northeast to take their goods by road to Ayutthaya and transfer them to ships there.
       Ships will reach Laem Chabang within 22 hours. Traditional barges take 48-52 hours to reach the seaport.
       Prasit pointed that this port also set up reduce traffic problem of Lat Krabang ICD, which now handle a total of 1.6 million containers per year. In addition, demand for containers to serve the country's imports and exports grows by 600,000-700,000 containers per year.
       The new river port and ICD will allow the company to connect all means of transportation: road, marine and rail freight.
       Roads now carry 88-90 per cent of the Kingdom's goods, and marine shipments only 4-5 per cent. In addition, logistics costs account for 20 per cent of the country's gross domestic product compared with 12 per cent in developed countries.
       Besides exporters and buying agents, the company has already proposed its business plan to major carriers, such as Hanjin, APL, "K" Line, Evergreen, Yang Ming and others.
       "Having the services (river port and ICD) will encourage the government plan to promote Thailand as a regional trade hub and international distribution centre," said Prasit.
       Prasit stressed that the group also looked forward to link transportation networks to the South of China, Burma and Laos.

Pity the lot of migrants wallowing in the ocean

2009-09-06T21:53:00.000-07:00

       Human beings adrift at sea are not toxic cargo. Since time immemorial, human instinct has been to save lives endangered at sea. Instead, today, on the assumption that boats in distress carry migrants and refugees, other ships pass them by, ignoring their pleas for help. Port authorities force them back to sea to certain hardship and peril if not death as though they were turning away ships laden with dangerous waste.
       In the latest shameful incident last month,scores of migrants died of hunger and thirst while attempting to cross the Mediterranean from Libya to Italy. Reportedly, Maltese authorities had spotted their boat in distress.They provided food, water and fuel, as well as life vests, and alerted their Italian counterparts. The emaciated passengers were left to go on with their trip. Only five of them came through this ordeal and were finally rescued by the Italian Coast Guard.
       The Maltese government maintains that its officials had complied with international agreements. But their actions fall woefully short of international human rights obligations and standards of conduct at sea.
       In that very busy and heavily patrolled stretch of water between northern Africa and Italy, only one vessel stopped to provide sustenance to the shipwrecked.
       Human rights advocates have again raised their voices in horror and protest, reminding governments and private concerns that the rescue of persons in distress at sea is not only an obligation under the international law of the sea, but also a humanitarian necessity, irrespective of the status of voyagers and the reasons for their voyage.
       Human rights law is of paramount importance. First and foremost the right to life and security of persons must be upheld, for example, by providing food, water and all the necessary care and protection to those who desperately need such sustenance to survive. Specifically, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and recent amendments to the Safety of Life at Sea, as well as the Search and Rescue Conventions and the implementing guidelines issued by the International Maritime Organisation,anchor the rules of conduct expected and required at sea.
       Government disregard of international duties represents only part of the problem.There is no doubt that ruthless people smugglers bear much of the blame for the thousands of deaths that occur each year in the Mediterranean, the Gulf of Aden, the Caribbean, the Indian Ocean and elsewhere.It is vital that flag states exercise effective jurisdiction and control over their vessels by ensuring strict compliance with safety standards set out in relevant international instruments so that unseaworthy ship and boats remain ashore. They must also prevent and prohibit smuggling and trafficking of migrants. Further, states inspecting vessels suspected of involvement in smuggling or trafficking must treat all persons on board humanely and in a dignified manner regardless of their status. Instead, overcrowded vessels and their passengers are sometimes endangered by the methods employed by governments and regional organisations to intercept and turn back boatloads of migrants and refugees.
       There must be an unequivocal recognition that no persons, including asylum seekers and migrants, inhabit a human rights limbo while travelling or upon reaching a destination other than their country of origin.
       A failure to protect migrants' human rights encourages boat captains and shipping companies to put calculations of the financial cost of salvaging poor and unwanted seafarers in distress above both their duty to rescue and human compassion. Every time a government refuses to allow those who have been rescued to disembark at the nearest port or the final port of destination, they increase the pressure on captains and shipping companies to avert their gaze when they see a migrant boat in trouble. It can cost companies millions of dollars if states refuse to let their vessels enter ports or offload cargoes because there are migrants on board. The disincentives for responsible behaviour became paradoxically clear when fishermen who helped seafarers in distress were made to face criminal charges, rather than praise for saving lives and fulfilling a duty clearly spelled out in international law and common humanity.
       The millions of people who risk their lives and safety in order to cross international borders in search of a better life present one of the most serious human rights problems in our world today.
       Navi Pillay is United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

Ministry of Commerce commits 2 billion baht to drive Thai logistics

2009-09-06T05:37:00.000-07:00

       Logistics is one of the key elements of trade and investment relations being developed by ASEAN, including ASEAN+3, ASEAN+6 and ASEAN-China and in relation to ASEAN countries around the Mekong Region.
       Related projects being discussed at the ASEAN level cover border agreements dealing with cargo. A network of distribution centres, transit stations and cargo portals supporting international trade is also being developed. Various projects will also support maritime trade, including adoption of incoterms and multiple transport forms. Collaboration between the public and private sectors in developing infrastructure and providing logistics is being encouraged.
       In this connection. the Thai government has devoloped a program of related economic incentives involving a budget of over US$2 billion. The money will be used to develop logistics systems around the country, with emphasis on improving rail and water transportation. The possibility of joint venture projects with private companies in China under the supervision of the Chinese government to develop high-speed rail systems and para-rail systems linking maritime transport with rail systems in southern China is also being looked at. Meanwhile, the rail system from northeast Thailand to Laem Chabang Deep-Sea Port is also being developed and both projects are expected to progress considerably following the impending visit of Thai Commerce Minister, Korbsak Sabhavasu, to China.
       The Deputy Minister added that: By the end of this year, our logistics trade policies will be implemented in two ways, offensively and defensively. Defensive implementation involves creating new logistics pathways to target countries, including both standard and advanced formats, so as to stimulate trade in various targeted regions."
       Defensive implementation will also extend to encouraging Thai logistics companies to find solutions to their liquidity problems with help from the Small and Medium Enterprises Devolopment Bank of Thailand (SME Bank). A logistics management network will be established under two groups, namely Thai Logistics Alliance Co., Ltd. (TLA), comprising 31 members, and Siam Logistics Alliance Co., Ltd. (SLA) comprising 26 members. The objective here is to expand water - and rail-based transportation services and encourage more widespread use by reducing costs and increasing efficiency and customer service.
       Among the top priority projects is Pakbara Deep-Sea Port in Satun province which will be developed as part of efforts to open up trade routes to the BIMTEC group comprising India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar and Thailand. Backed by full business incentives, the new port will be a gateway to economic development for the five southern border provinces of Thailand. It will promote trade between Thailand and India, the Middle East, Europe and Africa, thereby advancing Thailand's competitiveness in doing business with the West.
       The Thai economy and society are inextricably linked to the rest of the world. Therefore, we must adapt in order to develop. It we make the most of the opportunities presented by globalisation now by enlisting the help and cooperation of all citizens, our prospects for the future should be brighter than ever.
       Ministry of Commerce
       www.moc.go.th
       As Chairman of Logistics Trade, Deputy Commerce Minister Mr. Alongkorn Pollabutr said: "We expect to see rapid progress in implementing the free trade plans within 2009. Thailand will become capable of providing far more sophisticated logistics services to ASEAN members. In order to build the momentum for more active ASEAN markets, we will encourage the private sector to get involved. With this in place, we expect to see Thailand's intra-ASEAN trade growing at a rate of at least 10-20% annually"

Abkhazia threatens Georgian shipping

2009-09-03T22:29:00.000-07:00

       The leader of the Russianbacked rebel region of Abkhazia yesterday threatened to destroy Georgian ships which entered the enclave's "territorial waters", Interfax news agency reported.
       Tensions between Georgia and Abkhazia in the Black Sea have risen sharply in recent weeks, with Georgia trying to impose an economic and commercial embargo adopted last year in the wake of its five-day war with Russia.
       Georgia says it has detained four ships delivering goods to Abkhazia this year,including two within several days of each other late last month.
       "I have issued an order to our navy to destroy any Georgian ships violating Abkhazia's sea border," the region's leader Sergei Bagapsh told Interfax."This step has been motivated by unending acts of piracy by Georgia."
       Georgia on Tuesday sentenced the captain of a Turkish-operated tanker to 24 years in jail for trying to deliver fuel to Abkhazia. Georgia says it detained the tanker in Georgian waters, but its operator says it was seized at gunpoint in international waters.
       Georgian Interior Ministry spokesman Shota Utiashvili said Tbilisi would hold Russia, which controls Abkhazia's borders and its coastline under a deal with the region, responsible for any attacks on its ships.
       "Abkhazia's navy does not exist," he said."There are no Abkhaz territorial waters, as these waters belong to Georgia.If there is an attack on Georgian ships,Russia would be responsible, not the separatist government."
       Russian border-guard commander General Yevgeny Inchin said on Friday his forces would ensure the safety of merchant ships entering Abkhaz waters,but did not specify how.
       Russian military experts say the Abkhaz navy consists of eight boats armed with light guns.
       Mr Bagapsh said Russian ships would not be involved in any operations against Georgian ships.
       "I want to stress that we are talking exclusively about the Abkhaz navy," he said."Russia's navy is not being used and will not be used to carry out this task."
       In a statement on Tuesday, Abkhazia said Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili was trying to disrupt life in the region through the embargo.

UAE SEIZES ARMS BOUND FOR IRAN ON N. KOREA SHIP

2009-08-31T06:41:00.000-07:00

       The United Arab Emirates has seized a cargo ship bound for Iran with a cache of banned rocketpropelled grenades and other arms from North Korea, the first such seizure since sanctions against North Korea were ramped up, diplomats and officials said on Friday.
       The seizure earlier this month was carried out in accordance with new UN Security Council sanctions meant to derail North Korea's nuclear weapons programme, but which also ban the North's sale of any conventional arms.
       Diplomats identified the vessel as a Bahamas-flagged cargo vessel, the ANL Australia ."We can confirm that the UAE detained a North Korean vessel containing illicit cargo," a Western diplomat said.
       Turkey's deputy UN ambassador, Fazli Corman, who chairs the Securit y Council's sanctions panel, also confirmed the incident without providing details and said council members are examining the seriousness of it.
       The UAE, a hub for Iranian goods,seized the ship earlier in August. The ship is registered in the Bahamas, a common country of registry for vessels, but it wasn't immediately clear who owns it nor where the owner is based.
       The Security Council's latest resolution came in the wake of North Korea's second nuclear test in May and firing of six short-range rockets.
       The ship's seizure and reported violation of a UN arms embargo was reported by the UAE in a confidential letter two weeks ago to the council's sanctions committee for North Korea,which is comprised of diplomats from all 15 nations on the Security Council,according to diplomats and officials.
       The Financial Times first reported the weapons' seizure on Friday.

Ministry of Commerce commits 2 billion baht to drive Thai logistics

2009-08-27T20:58:00.000-07:00

       Logistics is one of the key elements of trade and investment relations being developed by ASEAN, including ASEAN+3, ASEAN+6 and ASEAN-China and in relation to ASEAN countries around the Mekong Region.
       Ralated projects being discussed at the ASEAN level cover border agreements dealing with cargo. A newtwork of distribution centres, transit stations and cargo portals supporting international trade is also being developed. Various projects will also support maritime trade including adoption of incoterms and multiple transport forms. collaboration between the public and private sectors in developing infrastructure and providing logistics is being encouraged.
       In this connection, the Thai government has developed a program of related economic incentives involving a budget of over US$2 billion. The money will be used to develop logistics systems around the country, with emphasis on improving rail and water trasnportatio. The possibility of joint venture projects with private companies in China under the supervision of the Chinese government to develop high-speed rail systems and para-rail systems linkign maritime transport with rail systems in southern China is also being looked at. Meanwhile, the rail system from northeast Thailand to Laem Chabang Deep-Sea Port is also being developed and both projects are expectedto progress considerably following the impending visit of Thai Commerce Minister, Korbsak Sabhavasu, to China.
       The Deputy Minister added that: By the end of this year, our logistics trade policies will be implemented in two ways, offensively and defensively. Defensive implementation involves creating new logistics pathways to target countries, including both standard and advanced formats, so as to stimulate trade in various targeted regions."
       Defensive implementation will also extend to encouraging Thai logistics companies to find solutions to their liquidity problems with help from the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Bank of Thailand (SME Bank). A logistics management network will be established under two groups, namely Thai Logistics Alliance Co., Ltd. (TLA), comprising 31 members, and siam Logistics Alliance Co., Ltd. (SLA) comprising 26 members. The objective here is to expand water and rail-based transportation services and encourage more widespread use by reducing costs and increasing efficiency and customer service.
       Among the top priority projects is Pakbara Deep-Sea Port in Satun province which will be developed as part of efforts to oepn up trade routes to the BIMTEC group comprising India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar and Thailand. Backed by full business incentives, the new port will be a gateway to economic development for the five southern border provinces of Thailand. It will promote trade between Thailand and India, the Middle East, Europe and Africa, thereby advancing Thailand's competitiveness in doing business with the West.
       The Thai economy and society are inextricably linked to the rest of the workd. Therefore, we must adapt in order to develop. If we make themost of the opportunities presented by globalisation now by enlisting the help and cooperation of all citizens, our prospects for the future should be brighter than ever.
       As Chairman of Logistics Trade, Deputy Commerce Minister Mr. Alongkorn Pollabutr said: "We expect to see rapid progress in implementing the free trade plans within 2009. Thailand will become capable of providing far more sophisticated logistics services to ASEAN members. In order to build the momentum for more active ASEAN markets, we will encourage the private sector to get invloved. With this in place, we expect to see Thailand's intra-ASEAN trade growing at a rate of at least 10-20% annually"

NECTEC G-BOX CHECKS DRIVERS AND DELIVERIES

2009-08-24T22:43:00.000-07:00

       Device monitors position, speed, status, allows voice contact
       The National Electronics and Computer Technology Centre (Nectec) has developed a computer-based system to maintain real-time surveillance over the behaviour of transport drivers and remotely monitor the progress of deliveries by road.
       The system is called the G-Box, having been developed as a driving assistance system in the centre's so-called Generic Box Project. Nectec, which developed the G-Box as a means of minimising transport risks to businesses, expects the technology to be ready for commercial use in the near future.
       The director of Nectec's Intelligent Transport Systems Programme, Passakorn Pathombutr, said that the G-Box, which would be located in transport trailers, rather than in the prime mover or driving cabin, aimed to check the status of the trailer and its cargo from point of origin to destination. The technology is based on embedded systems and open-source software. The status of the trailer will be displayed constantly on a monitor screen in the computer centre of the company's head office.
       The G-Box is integrated with a global positioning system (GPS) which provides both location and speed. The system will also report on the status of both the trailer and the engine control unit of the truck.
       The system will also provide useful real-time information to the driver during the journey, such as warning of accidents or road construction on the road ahead so that the driver can avoid troublesome spots. These warnings will be delivered to the driver about 20 kilometres before the site of the problem.
       The system will not only allow head-office administrators to check the status and location of the trailer and its load, but also to give the driver a verbal warning if the speed of the trailer exceeds speed limits set by the company or the law.
       "We are concerned about both security and the confidence of drivers," Passakorn said. "The G-Box can also check and control the behaviour of drivers while they are on the road."
       Nectec has installed prototype G-Boxes into two PTT truck-trailers hauling oil around the country. The next step is to transfer the technology to business partners so the G-Box will soon be available commercially to the public.
       He said the centre planned to implement and bundle controller area network technology, speech- and voice-recognition technology into the G-Box in the future so that the box will provide a gateway for truck-trailer drivers to communicate with other vehicles. Moreover, users will be able to access the Internet on the move, from cars, trucks or buses on which the G-Boxes are installed.
       Passakorn said the G-Box was also suitable for installation in school buses, taxis and passenger cars, to monitor driving economy or to oversee new drivers.

PUSH FOR PRIVATE INITIATIVE IN INLAND WATER TRANSPORT

2009-08-24T22:41:00.000-07:00

       The Transport Ministry will support private-sector efforts to boost the country's inland water-transport capacity as a means of lowering logistics costs.
       Deputy Transport Minister Kuakul Danchaiwijit said the ministry was working with the Port Authority of Thailand (PAT), the Water Transport Department and the shipping industry to formulate specific support measures.
       Speaking after visiting the CP Group's port and inland container depot (ICD) operation in Ayutthaya province, Kuakul said the volume of goods transported via inland waterways now accounted for only 5 per cent of the country's total cargo.
       Earlier, the minister held a meeting of senior officials to promote inland water transport along the Chao Phya River, the Kingdom's longest, running from the North to the Central Plain.
       Compared with road transport, inland water transport has long-term potential to help lower logistics costs in Thailand, which are relatively expensive due to high dependence on land transport.
       Besides inland water transport, the government also wants to promote greater use of railways, which is more cost-effective than road transport.
       Kuakul said the government would have to play the leading role in infrastructure development for inland water transport, in order to boost efficiency and cost-effectiveness.
       There must also be more linkages between road-, water- and rail-transport facilities.
       At present, only two of the country's five major rivers are partly used for water transport: the Chao Phya and the Pasak.
       Acting PAT governor Sunida Skulratana said her agency and the CP Group's Ayutthaya port had been cooperating to provide a container-transport service from Klong Toei and Laem Chabang ports to destinations in the northern, northeastern and central regions.
       "Inland water transport is cheaper for many types of cargo, because we can handle larger quantities. Fuel-efficiency is also better," said Sunida.
       Meanwhile, the CP Group, a diversified conglomerate, has spent Bt1 billion to develop its Ayutthaya port and related ICD facility, located on 313 rai of land, so that it can handle up to 400,000 containers a year.
       The port can handle up to five barges at a time, each one capable of carrying 60 containers.

Rescuers find bones, ash of Chinese sailors

2009-08-23T23:55:00.001-07:00

       Malaysian police ended search and rescue efforts yesterday on a stricken Taiwanese oil tanker involved in a collision in the Malacca Strait after the burnt remains of all its missing crew were found.
       The MT Formosa Product Brick tanker caught fire and was seriously damaged last week after a collision with a Greekmanaged bulk carrier in the narrow shipping lane. Burnt bone fragments of two of the nine missing Chinese sailors were found on Saturday.
       "We have ended all search and rescue efforts as the remains of all nine Chinese crew members have been found," said Rizal Ramli, marine police chief in Port Dickson. The accident happened off Port Dickson in Negeri Sembilan state, south of Kuala Lumpur.
       "We only found bones as the fire was so hot that most of the bodies were incinerated beyond recognition," Chief Ramli added.
       The tanker was carrying naphtha, a flammable liquid mixture ofhydrocarbons distilled from petroleum,coal tar and natural gas.

2 cargo boats go down off Andaman coast

2009-08-23T23:54:00.000-07:00

       Two cargo boats have sunk during fierce storms in the Andaman Sea off Phangnga and Satun. There were no casualties.
       Sixteen crewmen were rescued after their Thai-registered cargo ship went down in rough weather yesterday morning off the coast of Takua Pa district in Phangnga.
       The naval rescue team from the 3rd Fleet sent boats to the scene.
       The crew members - seven Thais,four Indonesians and five Burmese were rescued and admitted to the naval base hospital for examination.
       They were later released.A preliminary investigation found the ship,Chart 1 , captained byanIndonesian, was transporting 1,200 teak logs from Burma to Vietnam.
       The wooden boat struggled with the stormy weather and sank after water flowed into the engine room.
       Further south in Satun, another Thairegistered boat carrying seafood to the northern Malaysian state of Perlis sank shortly after it left Tamalung port in Muang district yesterday afternoon.
       Two crews and two passengers, who were not identified, were plucked from the water by marine police.
       The passengers had hired the boat to deliver the seafood but it capsized in heavy rain and gusty winds near Puyu Cape.

lmprove competitiveness ahead of AEC, logistics providers told

2009-08-23T23:53:00.000-07:00

       The Commerce Ministry is asking Thai logistics providers to improve their competitiveness, in order to ensure business growth following service liberalisation under the Asean Economic Community.
       Trade Negotiations Department director-general Nuntawan Sakuntanaga said the liberalisation of logistics, particularly air transport, would be opened further next year. Thai exporters should ensure they are efficient enough to compete with foreign players from other Asean countries.
       The AEC will see a free flow of trade and investment by 2015 Asean will open the logistics sector wider for members starting next year. Other sectors to be further liberalised are healthcare, telecommunications and tourism.
       Asean investors will be allowed to hold a maximum 70-per-cent stake in each of these types of service businesses within the grouping by 2015. They can own 49 per cent now, rising to 51 per cent next year.
       However, the percentage of shareholding will also be subject to the internal foreign-business laws of each individual nation.
       Logistics costs amount to 18 per cent of the Kingdom's gross domestic product: 8 per cent from transportation costs, 7 per cent from product weight, 2 per cent from operating costs and 1 per cent from warehouse costs.
       However, liberalisation will not only improve Thai providers' competitiveness, but also help lower Thai exporters' costs, said Nuntawan.
       To ensure local logistic providers can compete with foreign investors, they must act quickly to improve their efficiency and lower operating costs, Nuntawan said.
       The government will design projects to help logistics providers develop their competitiveness. A special committee for logistics development has been set up and is chaired by Deputy Commerce Minister Alongkorn Ponlaboot, with improving competitiveness a major goal.
       Investors from Japan, the United States, Singapore, Australia, Germany and China have to date owned many logistics and related businesses in the Kingdom. These include port services for international trading, packaging services, third-party logistics and express delivery service.
       Only regular mail services are reserved for Thais under the country's postal laws.

ETERNITY JOINS HANDS WITH REGIONAL GROUP

2009-08-23T23:52:00.000-07:00

       Eternity Grand Logistics has joined the recently established ARE group to expand its new door-to-door delivery service to the Asean market to compete against giant multinational rivals.
       "We position the ARE services as a competitive model, translating into 'lower' prices than our rivals." Poonsak Thiapairat, managing director of the locally owned company, said recently.
       The move is part of the firm's revised strategic plan to focus on its core business, ground logistics services, rather than on diversification, he told The Nation.
       ARE, which stands for Asia Road Express, was established by four logistics firms two months ago to provide door-to-door delivery services by road in Asean, where international firms like TNT, DHL and Kerry Logistics are big players.
       ARE's range already covers Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore Vietnam and Thailand and would expand to Cambodia, Burma and South China.
       It would start the Bangkok-Vientiane, Bangkok-Hanoi, Bangkok-Ho Chi Minh routes next month. Bangkok-Cambodia would follow by year-end.
       The minimum shipment is 200 kilograms. Less-than-containerload service is available.
       As Eternity Grand Logistics is responsible for ARE's management, the company is also an authorised agent that can sell services under the ARE brand.
       "We don't have any stake in ARE as wejoined hands with it for only the purpose of business cooperation," Poonsak said.
       Doing business with ARE would help the company strengthen its network especially in Indochina, he said.
       Eternity Grand Logistics is a medium-sized company listed on the Market for Alternative Investment. Its books were not as pretty as expected after diversifying via a joint venture into coal trading a few years ago.
       The company posted a huge profit drop of 98 per cent on year to Bt230,000 in the first quarter, due partly to a coal inventory burden, besides the shrinkage in demand for shipments in the wake of the economic crisis. Revenue also saw a 34.77-per-cent drop on year to Bt210.19 million in the first quarter.
       "Now we're repositioning ourselves by focusing on only our core logistics and related services after making an exit from the coal trading business three months ago," Poonsak said
       As the company has no experience in coal trading, it could not generate income well, he said.
       The company would employ its imported coal storage and distribution centre on 100 rai of land in Nakhon Laung, ayutthaya, to provide coal warehousing and distributing services to energy firms such as Unique Mining Services, Asia Green and Banpu.
       The company's first-half sales of Bt466.35 million were substantially behind its target of Bt1.2 billion for this full-year.
       "Anyway, we still keep our sales target with no revision," he said. Firsthalf net profit was Bt2.89 million, down from Bt48.58 million last year.
       To boost sales in this half, the company would extend its capability to provide multi-modal transport services using road and rail, with the focus on import and export shipments.
       The company is now doing trials for shipments in the automobile, food and agricultural industries and expects to launch full services this year. It will also expand into new markets with potential for growth such as oil and ethanol, as there is still demand.

Worst is over, local operators believe

2009-08-23T23:51:00.000-07:00

       Thailand's logistics business is expected to lose 25% in value this year from 700 billion baht in 2008 but local operators are upbeat about the outlook going forward, saying shipment volumes have rebounded significantly over the past three months.
       Outbound marine shipments slid by 10% from May to July compared to the same period of last year, said Suwit Ratanachinda. president of the Thai International Freight Forwarders Association.
       The latest figure showed an improvement from the year-on-year contraction of 25-30% seen in the first four months,thanks to the rebounding world economy, Mr Suwit said.
       Marine transport accounts for 90%of Thailand's export shipments, which were still down 26% on a yearly basis in July, according to the Commerce Ministry.
       "We have seen outbound shipments of electronic components and automobiles but not that much, while those of agricultural products and consumer goods have bounced back sharply," Mr Suwit said.
       "We are hoping that outbound volume could turn positive year-on-year in the last two months as long as nothing unexpected happens."
       However, the figure for all of 2009 would still be down 25% due to a sharp decline in the early part of the year, he said.
       Tanit Sorat, chairman of the Feder-ation of Thai Industries'(FTI) logistics industry club, shared the same view,citing an expected gradual local economic recovery.
       Thailand's gross domestic product is estimated to have contracted by no more than 4% in the second quarter, with a contraction of 3% forecast in the third quarter before resuming the growth of 2.5% in the final quarter, based on forecasts by the National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB).
       The NESDB is scheduled to release official second-quarter GDP figures today.
       However, Mr Tanit said rising oil prices, now back above $70 per barrel and with a forecast to top $80 by yearend, could threaten the logistics industry's prospects and the economy in general."We need to make sure that smallscale operators could have access to low-interest rate loans; thus they can withstand the financial difficulties and not be forced out of business," he said.
       Both Mr Suvit and Mr Tanit also agreed that local logistics operators have to be better protected when the sector is liberalised under the Asean Free Trade Area framework. Starting next year, logistics operators from other Southeast Asian countries would be allowed to hold majority stakes of 51% in Thai companies.
       The Asean shareholding would be lifted to 70% three years later.
       Mr Suwit said his organisation was working with the Commerce Ministry on measures to help strengthen the industry to cope with intensified competition after liberalisation.

DOUBTS CAST ON RUSSIA'S "RESCUE" OF "ARCTIC SEA"

2009-08-23T23:49:00.000-07:00

       Moscow's contradictions and evasions provoke speculation that a 'hijacked' ship was carrying a secret cargo By Shaun Walker

       The ship has been found, the crew has been saved, and the pirates have been arrested. But the mystery surrounding the Malteseregistered and Russian-crewed Arctic Sea is, if anything, deeper than ever.
       The Russian navy arrested eight men last Tuesday for what may be the first case of piracy in European waters since the 17th century. The Russian Defence Minister, Anatoly Serdyukov, said that the group - citizens of Russia, Estonia and Latvia - had hijacked the ship off Sweden in July, and forced it to sail to Africa.
       But experts have expressed doubt over Moscow's explanation. And last Wednesday the Malta Maritime Authority finally admitted what has been suspected for several days that the ship "had never really disappeared".
       "The movements of the Arctic Sea were always known for several days, notwithstanding reports that the ship had disappeared,"the authority was quoted as saying."There was consensus among the investigating authorities ... not to disclose any sensitive information [so as] not to jeopardise the life and safety of the persons on board and the integrity of the ship."
       It was an "explanation" that left behind almost as many unanswered questions as before. The methods and motivations of the hijackers remain unclear, and rumours that the ship had a secret cargo persist.
       The Arctic Sea departed from Finland with a cargo of timber on July 21. Three days later,the crew were reportedly attacked in the Baltic by masked men masquerading as Swedish drugs police, speaking English with an accent,who tied them up, beat them and questioned them about drugs.
       It is allegedly these men who have been arrested for hijacking the ship, although it had earlier been reported that the men left the Arctic Sea after 12 hours on board. It is also unclear why Russian, Latvian and Estonian hijackers would speak to the Russian crew in English.
       The last radio contact from the ship came on July 28, after it passed through shipping
       anes between Britain and France and sailed out into the Atlantic. The ship was due to arrive in the Algerian port of Bejaia on August 4 to unload its timber cargo worth just over ฃ1 million (about 56 million baht).
       It never arrived. It wasn't until eight days ater, however, on August 12, that Russian President Dmitry Medvedev ordered the military to take "all necessary measures" to search for the ship. After a series of strange and contradictory sightings and denials, it was announced last Monday afternoon that the Russian navy had rescued the ship 12 hours before. The Arctic Sea was 300 miles off Cape Verde, thousands of miles from its original destination.
       So far there has been no inkling of who the hijackers are or what their motive may have been. Only their nationalities are known.Russian officials said questioning of the men was continuing aboard the Ladny , the Russian vessel that carried out the "rescue mission".Some analysts suggest that the disinformation admitted by the Maltese might be happening again. Conspiracy theorists in Russia even speculate that Russian authorities knew all along where the ship - with a possible secret cargo - was located, and only had to "rescue"it and come up with a cover story when the world's attention became focused on the vessel.
       One outstanding mystery is why, if the ship was hijacked on July 24, none of the crew was able to get the word out before contact was lost a few days later."The vessel had all the necessary modern means of communication and emergency alarms, and was located in waters where ordinary mobile telephones work," said Mikhail Voitenko, editor of the Russian maritime journal Sovfrakht ."To hijack the vessel so that no one makes a peep - can you imagine how that could be?I can't."
       Mr Voitenko is one of the few commentators who have provided a trickle of information about the ship. He and other Russian experts have aired suspicions that the 98-metre freighter was carrying an undeclared cargo and that high-level state interests were involved, but so far nobody has been able to provide details. Rumours have abounded of an illegal cargo of drugs, weapons, or even nuclear material.
       What is known is that the Arctic Sea was docked for repairs in Kaliningrad before beginning its journey to Finland to pick up its cargo of timber. Kaliningrad is a Russian enclave between Poland and Lithuania which is the base of the Russian Baltic Fleet and a notorious black spot for smuggling.
       Mr Voitenko said he would comment no further and posted an emotional statement on his website."Thank God that it has all ended well. The crew is alive. I will say at once that I think it was right to draw attention to the situation surrounding the Arctic Sea ,"he wrote."I can't say for certain, but nevertheless suspect that there was a serious risk of the crew dying without attention being brought to this unique case. I can't say anything about the roots of this story and I don't plan to dig further ... I need to think about my own skin too. Understand that as you will."The Independent
       PHOTOS: EPA AND AFP
       STILL UNANSWERED: QUESTIONS ABOUT THE ARCTIC SEA
       Why did it take so long for the Russian authorities to respond?
       Concerns had been raised in Finland and Sweden by July 30 about the ship. By August 3 the mystery of its hijacking in Swedish waters had been raised in Lloyd's List. It was almost another week before the Russian authorities announced they were sending warships to search for the cargo vessel.
       Why did the crew tell Solchart,the company managing the vessel, that they had been hijacked but that the ordeal was over?
       According to Solchart, the crew was back in control of the vessel after 12 hours and continuing to Algeria.Those communications brought the realisation that a hijacking had occurred. Piracy was, until the Arctic Sea , non-existent in European waters, so any report of such activity was bound to get public attention. It was believed to be the first hijacking in Swedish waters since the 17th century. The vessel passed through the English Channel.
       Why did it take so long for the alarm to be raised?
       It is thought to have been three days before Solchart was informed of the Swedish hijack and in European waters an absence of contact for a day would cause concern. It was claimed that radio equipment had been damaged, but the crew are thought to have had their own mobile telephones which should have worked while the ship was close to the Swedish coast.
       Why, shortly after The Independent brought the disappearance to worldwide attention, did Russian President Dmitry Medvedev order the navy to take "all necessary measures" to find the vessel?
       The obvious answer is that the Kremlin wanted to do all it could to protect its nationals, the crew, but doubters suggest the president was worried about the fate of what the ship was carrying.
       Was the ship carrying a secret cargo?
       An illicit cargo might explain the hijackers' interest in the vessel the officially listed cargo of timber worth ฃ1 million was regarded as a most unlikely target for an armed gang. Arms, drugs and nuclear equipment have all been suggested as likely secret cargos.It has also been suggested that the boat was seized in a commercial dispute.
       Why did the hijackers wait so long before, reportedly,demanding a ransom?
       It was only at the weekend that the first demands were said to have been made. It could be that an earlier ransom demand has been kept secret.
       Were the eight men captured by the Russian warship the same who had carried out the hijack on July 24?
       It was suggested last week by the European Commission that the vessel was hijacked twice, once off Sweden and again off Portugal.Under normal circumstances this would be considered unlikely, but many of the circumstances surrounding the ship have resembled a fictional thriller in the past four weeks.
       What did the hijackers say to the Swedish police?
       The Swedish authorities are thought to have spoken to the hijackers at least twice, though not necessarily knowingly. On the first occasion, either using radio or the ship's satellite phone, they presumably thought they were speaking to a crew member and agreed because it was already beyond Swedish waters to wait to interview them on the vessel's planned return in August. The Swedish police communicated with the vessel last week but refused to divulge details of the conversation, or even to say if they considered the ship to be under the control of pirates.

AS LOAD FALLS, JAL SEEKS MERGER WITH CARGO RIVAL

2009-08-23T23:48:00.001-07:00

       Japan Airlines yesterday announced that it aimed to merge its freight business with that of rival Nippon Cargo Airlines in response to a sharp drop in demand during the economic downturn.
       JAL, which lost US$1 billion (Bt34 billion) in the three months to June, said it had agreed to start negotiations with Nippon Yusen Kaisha, which owns the rival cargo firm, with a view to joining forces by April 1, 2010.
       "Following the collapse of the economy in the United States last autumn, the financial crisis that spread worldwide caused demand for air cargo transport to fall drastically and market situations to worsen," JAL said.
       A merger of the two largest cargo operators in Japan should enable them to make a profit, JAL said.
       The two airlines have already started code-sharing for cargo flights.
       "Further consolidation is expected to bring about more benefits such as allowing both companies to significantly reduce cost and to fortify their technical expertise," JAL said in a statement.
       JAL, Asia's biggest carrier, earlier this month announced drastic cuts to its flight services as it braces for a second staright year in the red.

Air cargo firms eye merger

2009-08-21T22:15:00.000-07:00

       Japan Airlines Corp said it would start talks to merge its ailing cargo business with a unit of shipping firm Nippon Yusen as the airline looks to return to profit with the help of statebacked funds.
       JAL, Asia's largest airline by revenue,secured a deal in June to borrow 100 billion yen ($1.1 billion) from two statebacked lenders and three commercial banks and is now restructuring under state supervision.
       The company has already announced plans to cut domestic and international flights, but is under pressure to come up with more drastic cost-saving measures as it heads for its second-straight annual loss in the year to March 2010.
       JAL and Nippon Yusen said they would begin talks towards a potential merger of their cargo businesses in April, building on a code-sharing alliance between the two firms under which they mutually use each others networks to sell and transport cargo.
       "The air cargo business has been one of the hardest hit industries by the re-cession from last year," Hitoshi Oshika,corporate officer of Nippon Yusen, said at the briefing.
       The combination of JAL's cargo business with the Nippon Yusen unit, Nippon Cargo Airlines Co, would create a company with combined sales of about $3 billion and in control of roughly 30% of Japan's international air cargo market,JAL said.
       Its global competitors would include FedEx Corp and UPS.
       JAL reported a 50.9 billion yen operating loss for the year to March 2009 and has forecast a 59 billion yen loss for the current year, as it struggles to control costs and suffers along with other airlines due to a slump in global travel.
       Nippon Yusen has been looking for ways to turn around its air cargo business,which booked an operating loss of 17.9 billion yen in the year to March 2009 on sales of 79.4 billion yen.
       The shipping firm has implemented cost-cutting measures and replaced its fleet with more fuel-efficient cargo planes.

Maersk sinks into the red in first half

2009-08-21T22:14:00.000-07:00

       The Danish shipping and oil group A.P. Moller-Maersk reported a deeper-than-expected first-half net loss as freight rates, volumes and oil prices fell and said second-half results would be similar.
       The world's biggest container shipping group, a barometer for the health of global trade, swung to a net loss of 3.02 billion Danish crowns ($577 million) from a profit of 11.98 billion a year earlier,missing analysts' average estimate for a loss of 2.91 billion.
       Even so, chief executive Nils Smedegaard Andersen did see some signs of improvement, with shipping volumes and rates starting to rise, though the shipping cycle would lag the global economic improvement.
       "The global economy is moving into a better situation - we are expecting growth going forward and the worst to be behind us," Andersen told analysts in a conference call.
       "Given deliveries (of vessels) in container shipping and tankers, it is likely that the shipping cycle will be somewhat slower in improving, but we are optimistic that the things that we are doing for the long term are right," he said.
       Maersk, a conglomerate whose businesses range from shipping to retail,said in a statement:"The result for the second half of 2009 is expected to be at the same level as the first half-year."
       The global economic crisis had a "severe negative impact" on the group's activities in the first half, said Maersk,whose container shipping fleet consisted of 501 vessels at the end of the first half.
       Freight rates and volumes for the group's container shipping activities were 30% and 7%, respectively, below the levels seen in the same period of 2008,Maersk said.
       Average rates for the tanker activities were considerably lower than in the first half of 2008, and the average price for Brent crude was 52% lower than a year ago.
       "Freight rates continued to fall in the second quarter, from the record-low level in the first quarter, but the curve flattened towards the end of the period," Maersk said.
       "The trend is now expected to reverse,with rate increases, albeit modest, in the third quarter of 2009," the company said.
       "Average oil prices are expected to be higher in the second half than in the first half," it added.
       Maersk operates the world's largest container shipping fleet, Maersk Line,and controls about 85% of Danish oil production in the North Sea, together with partners Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Chevron Corp.
       The group's oil and gas production rose 8% in the first half to 81 million barrels of oil equivalents and 50 new wells began operating during the sixmonth period, Maersk said.
       "Oil and gas output is expected to be a little lower in the second half of 2009 than in the first half, but full-year production is expected to be on a par with 2008," it said.
       Revenues fell to 127.39 billion crowns in the first half year from 148.37 billion in the same period last year, in line with analysts' average forecast of 127.33 billion.

Port project needs rethink

2009-08-21T22:13:00.000-07:00

       The Port Authority of Thailand has never kept secret the fact that it would like to see the land it owns put to more productive use than simply playing host to the capital's biggest slum community. Now it has gone a step further and drawn up a five-year plan to split the area into four prime commercial and office zones requiring an investment of at least 20 billion baht. But, admit the developers, some fine-tuning still needs to be done.
       That is one way of putting it. Conflict resolution might be a better way because an abundance of such skills will be needed if there is to be a forced resettlement of the tens of thousands of people who live and work in the area. Then there is the certainty of a renewed showdown with the Klong Toey market vendors who are already incensed by the renovation efforts of a private concessionaire. That is a situation that should have been handled with a great deal more tact and diplomacy. Experience gained in the remodelling of other city markets should have taught the authorities that the velvet glove is more effective than the iron fist.
       Klong Toey slum dwellers are used to threats of eviction. Although there has been a welcome upgrading in recent years, there are continual problems with regular water supplies, electricity and waste removal,sanitation, hygiene, child care, education, crime prevention and health services because they have no legal right to the land they occupy. They are not there out of choice. This has been going on for over 50 years and will continue until the Port Authority gives serious consideration to expanding low-cost housing on more of its ample land reserves to absorb the community.
       Do that first and it will eventually pave the way for some of the big business developments it has in mind to improve the value of its assets. Right now its priorities are skewed. It is sheer folly to think it can turn the slum problem over to the Community Organisations Development Institute (CODI) and expect it to resettle so many people, probably far away from the area in which they work, in a relatively short space of time. Without proper planning and a suitable time frame, such an attempt would quickly come to grief. It would be reminiscent of the mass evictions and attempted resettlement of slum dwellers on the city's outskirts two to three decades ago. Those resettled could not find work deep in the suburbs or afford to spend hours in a long commute to their old jobs so they just abandoned their new locations and moved back to their old ones.
       The underfunded CODI works through the respected Ban Mankong home-building and land-sharing projects to replace the slums and avoid forced relocations. But progress is slow. Its sister project is Ban Ua-arthorn which was initiated by the National Housing Authority and involves the private sector. These projects were touted as the solution to the shortage of affordable accommodation and, while there were some successes,Ban Ua-arthorn schemes gained notoriety as showpieces of corruption. This took the form of ill-fitting doors,roofs prone to blow away in the wind, holes and cracks in foundations, walls and ceilings, dangerous electrical outlets and all-round substandard construction. It can only be a matter of time before such low-quality, but not inexpensive, public housing projects revert to slums again, completing a vicious circle. Ban Mankong projects,on the other hand, are community-based, better organised and hold out real promise for the future.
       Although the economic downturn caused migration patterns to slow and people to return home as factory jobs dried up, communities such as Klong Toey seem unaffected and likely to be with us for a long time yet.

Arctic Sea crew, hijackers arrive in Moscow

2009-08-21T22:12:00.000-07:00

       The crew and suspected hijackers of the Arctic Sea cargo ship arrived in Russia yesterday after a maritime saga peppered with piracy and the hint of espionage.
       Russian warships found the merchant ship in the Atlantic Ocean off the Cape Verde islands on Monday and Moscow said eight people - nationals of Estonia,Latvia and Russia - had been arrested for hijacking the vessel.
       Ilyushin-76 military planes carrying 11 of the 15-member Russian crew and the men suspected of hijacking the Maltese-registered ship arrived at the Chkalovsky military airfield outside Moscow, local news agencies reported.
       The suspected men were then taken under guard to Moscow's high-security Lefortovo prison.
       Russia says the men had hijacked the ship on July 24 off the coast of Sweden and then threatened to blow it up if their ransom demands were not met.
       After heading through the English Channel in late July, radio contact was apparently lost and the 4,000-ton ship did not deliver its cargo to the Algerian port of Bejaia on Aug 4.
       Power plant tragedy
       The death toll in a Russian power plant accident rose to 17 yesterday after three more bodies were found, and harrowing escape stories emerged from the few survivors.
       Over 1,000 rescue workers searched the massive Sayano-Shushenskaya hydro-electric plant in southern Siberia for the 57 people who remain missing and are feared dead. Yesterday they pumped out the remaining water from the damaged engine room to try to find more bodies.
       A powerful blast on Monday blew out walls and caused the power plant's turbine room to flood. Three of the plant's 10 turbines were destroyed.

Hijacked ship was "continuously tracked"

2009-08-21T22:11:00.001-07:00

       The Arctic Sea cargo ship "never disappeared" and was continuously tracked from its hijacking last month until the Russian navy said it had retaken the ship on Monday, the Malta Maritime Authority (MMA) said.
       The ship's disappearance from radar after leaving a Finnish port on July 23 sparked an international search, but the MMA said "investigators always knew of the ship's whereabouts".
       Swedish, Maltese and Finnish maritime authorities decided not to disclose any sensitive information "in order not to jeopardise the life and safety of the persons on board and the integrity of the ship", the MMA said. Russia said on Tuesday it had arrested eight men for hijacking the Arctic Sea after the Russian navy took control of the vessel at an undisclosed location believed to be off the west coast of Africa.
       The official story is the Arctic Sea was sailing from Finland to Algeria with a crew of 15 and a cargo of timber worth 1.16 million (55.8 million baht).