November 29, 2005

S&P affirms top ratings on port operator PSA

SINGAPORE - Standard and Poor's on Tuesday affirmed its highest corporate credit rating of AAA on PSA Corp, reflecting the state-owned Singapore port operator's strong financial position.

Despite pressure from regional rivals, PSA Corp's frequent sailing schedules, extensive network and diverse customer base remain unrivalled by other ports, the US risk evaluator said in a statement.

As a result of its strategic investments in foreign operations, the company is enjoying rapid volume growth in ports located around the world including China and Belgium, it said.

A credit rating of AAA means the company has an extremely strong capacity to meet its financial commitments. -- AFP

Copyright © 2005 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.

Business Times - 01 Dec 2005

Huntsman eyes greater Asian expansion

Asia to account for 15-20% revenue in the coming decade, from about 8% now

By RONNIE LIM

FIRST Shanghai, now Singapore. And more manufacturing plants are likely to follow in Asia for US chemical giant Huntsman Corporation.

'Our strategy is to continue to grow with the market in this part of the world,' Huntsman's president of performance products Donald Stanutz said yesterday as the company broke ground on Jurong Island for its first manufacturing plant here.

Despite Huntsman's tradition of manufacturing in the US and Europe, Asia is fast becoming the focus of expansion for three of its divisions - polyurethanes, performance products and advanced materials.

The US$35 million Singapore plant will start operating in the first quarter of 2007, producing 16,000 tonnes per annum of polyetheramine - a product used in epoxy coatings, concrete additives, fuel additives, herbicides and pesticides.

The Singapore investment follows one in Shanghai, where Huntsman and its partners, including Germany's BASF, are building a US$1 billion integrated isocynates complex to make polyurethanes and polymers for use by the automotive and construction industries and in appliances. 'Shanghai will start up next summer,' Mr Stanutz said.

Huntsman expects Asia to account for 15-20 per cent of its revenue in the coming decade, from about US$1 billion of its US$13 billion revenue now.

Following Shanghai and Singapore, it has started discussions for another plant in the region to produce maleic anhydride, which is used by the automotive and construction industries, as well as for boat hulls. But it has not identified a site yet.

Singapore - not China - was chosen for its latest investment for several reasons.

One is the country's location in the middle of markets for polyetheramine such as Japan, South Korea, India and China.

'With its convenient market access, Singapore will help grow the regional business faster,' Mr Stanutz said.

The chemical would otherwise have to be exported from plants in Texas and Wales.

The availability of raw materials on Jurong Island is another reason.

'We also feel comfortable about Singapore's stand on protection of intellectual property,' Mr Stanutz explained. 'We watch intellectual property protection very carefully as we get into more sophisticated and sensitive technology.'

Copyright © 2005 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.

WoW.. the worlds busiest container port is Singapore

Dec 8, 2005
Key buyer of P&O stock is PSA, not Temasek
Port operator owns close to two-thirds of 4.1% stake held by parent in British group

By Narendra Aggarwal

SINGAPORE port operator PSA emerged yesterday as the buyer of shares in British giant P&O, and not Temasek Holdings, as had been widely tipped in global markets.

London Stock Exchange filings revealed PSA's role, but the news has only fuelled speculation surrounding the battle for P&O and its rich assets of ports and ferries.

It also underscores the increasing rivalry between PSA, Hong Kong's Hutchison and the rich new player Dubai Ports (DP) World, which pipped PSA last December to snare US-based port operator CSX Corp.

DP World, the Dubai state-owned company, has offered £3.3 billion (S$9.75 billion) for P&O, and some observers believe PSA is building a stake of around 10 per cent in order to keep the Dubai firm 'on its toes'.

But one strand of speculation - that Temasek was preparing a rival bid for P&O - has been killed off by the news that it was PSA doing the buying.

While Temasek has the resources to take on DP World in a takeover battle, PSA's pockets are not deep enough to derail Dubai's aggressive plans to become the world's third-largest port player.

Confusion over who was buying the P&O shares last week arose because Temasek was listed as the designated shareholder under British regulatory rules since it wholly owns PSA.

It was also deemed to have an interest in the shares bought by PSA, the world's second-biggest port operator.

Stock market filings show that PSA had 63 per cent of the combined 4.1 per cent stake held with Temasek as of last Friday, the Financial Times reported.

But, with the drama still unfolding in London, PSA's corporate communications department here has been placed under a gag order. 'No comment' is the official line.

All options are still open, say Temasek and PSA. 'No statement has been made which imposed an obligation upon, nor restricts, either of them from any future course of action,' they said in a brief joint statement issued through UBS, which is advising PSA.

Meanwhile, DP World chairman Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem has said his company's bid for P&O is a 'fair offer', after agreeing to pay £4.43 a share in cash.

'I put in a good offer, a fair offer and cannot comment on the motives or intentions of my competitors,' he said.

This is not the first time that the new kid on the block, DP World, and PSA have opposed each other. Last December, DP World outbid PSA and others with a US$1.15 billion (S$1.95 billion) offer for CSX's global port assets.

As both are state-backed port operators, PSA and DP World can enlarge their influence in the shipping world by increasing their global footprint.

It also raises questions over whether private-sector companies like Hutchison, the No. 1 player in the world, will have to react.

narendra@sph.com.sg

Copyright © 2005 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.

09 December 2005

Spore's shipping hub status still secure in face of new trends: expert
By Frederick Lim, Channel NewsAsia

SINGAPORE : Major maritime trends that are emerging could change the status of shipping hubs in the region.

According to analysts, the rise of the Chinese economy is having a major impact on shipping patterns.

And they note that a growing trend among shippers towards more alliances and bigger container ships, which means fewer ports of call.

But experts say Singapore's position as major shipping hub in the region remains secure for now.

90% of the region's trade is moved by sea. And in North East Asia, Hong Kong, Kaoshiung and Busan have served as the main shipping hubs.

But analysts say their hub status is being threatened by the emergence of ports in China - like Shanghai and Shenzhen - as the mainland economy booms.

Up to three year ago, South Korea's Busan was the 3rd top-ranked container port in the world.

But it has now slipped to 5th place, while the Taiwanese port of Kaoshiung has dropped two places to 6th from 4th.

The fall in shipping volumes to Kaoshiung and Busan is the result of more direct shipments to and from China.

In Southeast Asia there is also a growing trend of direct services to China.

But analysts say Singapore remains a preferred port of call because it is a one-stop maritime centre.

"At the moment a lot of shipping lines would still prefer to call on Singapore on the way to the rest of Asia because they can fill up bunker fuel, they can buy fuel and provisions they need, maybe have some repair needs done. They can also have some financial brokerage and legal issues dealt with and so on," said Associate Professor Jose Tongzon of the economics department at National University of Singapore.

Currently, the competition for hub status in Southeast Asia is also not as keen as in the North.

Analysts also say that the trend towards more shipping alliances and building bigger container ships actually favours Singapore.

"Bigger ships come about because of shipping alliances; they have more capital and can afford to build more big ships. So under this scenario, they would only need to call at fewer ports. So instead of calling on, say Tanjong Pelepas, they just call on Singapore," said Associate Professor Tongzon.

Singapore's status as a shipping hub is also seen as being enhanced by its ability to provide inter-modal transport as the city-state also serves as an air-hub and logistics services base. - CNA /ls

Copyright © 2005 MCN International Pte Ltd

Dec 12, 2005
PSA may advise Shanghai on new Yangshan port operations

By Jean Chua
China Correspondent

SHANGHAI - SINGAPORE port operator PSA may be involved in the development of the next phase of Shanghai's new port at Yangshan, said a senior port authority official, as the US$1.7 billion (S$2.9 billion) project's first phase opened for business over the weekend.

PSA is 'highly likely' to be roped in to advise on port operations before the second phase is completed at the end of next year, Mr Zhang Zaiyang, deputy director of the Yangshan Port Authority, told reporters on Saturday.

'The Singapore port operators are among the best in the world and we have a close relationship with them,' he said. 'If they are involved, it would be to advise on operations.'

The Yangshan project - with the existing Shanghai port - is part of China's efforts to build new terminals and upgrade old ones in three of its main economic areas: the Pearl River Delta, which covers Guangzhou and Shenzhen; the Yangtze River Delta, which includes Shanghai and Ningbo; and the Bohai Rim Area, which encompasses Qingdao, Dalian and Tianjin.

China wants to double handling capacity at the ports in these three areas to 3.5 billion tonnes by 2010, the Ministry of Communications said late last year, setting aside US$6 billion for the expansion.

Yangshan port - built on a reclaimed island the size of 470 soccer fields in the East Sea and located some 45km from the Pudong International Airport - will be the biggest in the country when its three phases are finished some time before 2020.

Already the mainland's busiest port and the world's third-busiest last year - just after Hong Kong and Singapore - Shanghai says it can handle double the existing cargo by 2010, or an additional 15 million TEUs, thanks to Yangshan.

'The biggest obstacle to the development of Shanghai's current port is that it lacks depth and broad waterways,' said vice-mayor and chairman of the Yangshan port's management authority, Mr Yang Xiong, on Saturday.

As Yangshan deep-water port opens for business, 'we can now dock the biggest ships that carry 8,000 boxes, used by the world's top liners', he added.

With increasing demand of Chinese manufacturered goods from the rest of the world, cargo handled at Chinese ports will rise to more than five billion tonnes by 2010, up from last year's 4.1 billion tonnes, said communications minister Zhang Chunxian, at a shipping conference here last month.

Container throughput, measured by TEUs, or twenty-foot equivalent units, could more than double to 130 million TEUs from last year's 62 million TEUs, he said.

Such brisk business has prompted the port authorities in Shanghai, Ningbo, Shenzhen and Qingdao to add capacity so that they can jointly handle the 120 million to 140 million TEUs that Beijing expects the country to move every year by 2010.

Last year, container throughput in China reached 61.8 million TEUs.

Copyright © 2005 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.

Business Times - 13 Dec 2005

PSA container traffic up 23% in Jan-Nov period

SINGAPORE - Singapore port operator PSA said on Tuesday its terminals moved 23.2 per cent more containers in the first 11 months of 2005 than a year earlier, thanks to heavy trade between Asia and Europe and North America.

The firm, which operates ports in Singapore and abroad, said in a statement it handled 37.3 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), a standard industry measure, during the period, compared with 30.2 million TEUs in the same period last year.

PSA International's container growth has been lifted since August, when it began including container data from its newly acquired Hong Kong operations.

In June, PSA bought its second set of port assets in Hong Kong in four months to improve its access to China's booming export and import market. -- REUTERS

Copyright © 2005 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.

Dec 14, 2005
S'pore set to pip HK as busiest container port

By Narendra Aggarwal
Economics Correspondent

SINGAPORE appears set to grab Hong Kong's crown as the world's busiest container port this year, after port operators here put in a strong performance for the first 11 months of the year.

New figures show that the Republic's main port operator PSA International, along with Jurong Port, handled a combined 21.2 million standard containers in Singapore for the first 11 months, up 9.3 per cent from the same period last year.

Last year, Hong Kong was the world's largest container port, having handled 20.4 million containers. Singapore was a close second, handling 20.1 million containers.

Hong Kong has yet to release figures for last month, but Singapore has already overtaken the 'fragrant harbour' for the first 10 months of the year. Hong Kong's total for the year to October was a relatively modest 18.64 million containers.

PSA's total operations, both in Singapore and abroad, in Belgium, Brunei, China, India, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Portugal, South Korea and Thailand, shot up 23.2 per cent in the period from January to November from same period last year.

PSA said in a statement that it handled 37.3 million standard containers up from 30.2 million.

Port operations at home for PSA posted a rise of 8.4 per cent in the first 11 months of the year to 20.4 million containers.

PSA said that container movements at its ports overseas, including Hong Kong, surged 47.4 per cent to 16.9 million containers so far this year.

Analysts noted that PSA's container growth has risen since August this year, when it started including data from its newly acquired Hong Kong operations.

Copyright © 2005 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.

Business Times - 14 Dec 2005

PSA handled 8.4% more containers this year

(SINGAPORE) PSA International handled 8.4 per cent more containers in Singapore in the first 11 months this year from a year earlier, bolstered by increased global trade.

The container terminal operator handled 20.37 million 20-foot standard containers at its Singapore terminals in January to November, from 18.79 million a year earlier, PSA said in its website yesterday. Singapore overtook Hong Kong as the world's busiest container port in the first 10 months of this year.

PSA, Hong Kong's Hutchison Whampoa and other port operators have been benefiting from increased consumer demand by the US and Europe for low-cost goods made in China and other Asian countries that has fuelled growth in world trade. About 80 per cent of global trade is moved by sea.

PSA said its ports worldwide, including operations in Hong Kong, China and India, moved 37.25 million containers in the first 11 months, 23 per cent more than a year earlier.

PSA and Jurong Port together handled a combined 21.2 million containers here for the first 11 months, 9.3 per cent more than the previous year, based on data posted on the website of the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore.

Copyright © 2005 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.

18 December 2005

PSA and Swiss shipper ink joint venture to run container terminal

SINGAPORE : Singapore port operator PSA International and Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) have entered into a joint venture to manage a container terminal for the Swiss company in the city-state, a statement said on Sunday.

The MSC-PSA Asia Terminal will occupy three berths at the Pasir Panjang Terminal with an annual capacity of more than two million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), the Singapore port operator said in the statement.

PSA is among the world's biggest port operators with its flagship operations in Singapore.

Its global network of 18 port projects spans across 11 countries including China, Europe, India, Japan and South Korea.

In 2004, PSA handled 33.11 million TEUs of containers at all its ports around the world, including 20.62 million TEUs in Singapore. - AFP/ch

Copyright © 2005 MCN International Pte Ltd

Dec 19, 2005
PSA and Swiss group to operate terminal here
The joint venture, their second, will occupy three berths at Pasir Panjang

By Narendra Aggarwal
Economics Correspondent

SINGAPORE port operator PSA Corp has scored another major breakthrough by forming a joint venture with the world's second-largest shipping company to jointly manage and operate a container terminal for the European company here.

Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), a Swiss-based, closely held family-run business, and PSA inked the deal at the former's headquarters in Geneva last Thursday, but announced it only yesterday.

This is the second time that the two companies have linked up. They already have a joint venture in Belgium.

Market sources said the new venture was a near-equal partnership between PSA and MSC, though their stakes were not disclosed.

The MSC-PSA Asia Terminal, as the new venture will be known, will occupy three new berths at PSA's Pasir Panjang Terminal - its newest container terminal.

The venture will have an annual capacity of more than two million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs), PSA said in a statement yesterday.

'The signing of this joint venture means that our partnership with MSC has reached greater heights - we are indeed very delighted,' said Ms Grace Fu, PSA International's chief executive for South-east Asia and Japan.

PSA Corp said it will jointly manage and operate the new container terminal for MSC in Singapore.

The terminal will have representatives from both companies on its board and management team.

MSC is the second shipping line to form a joint venture with PSA in Singapore.

Two years ago, Chinese shipping giant Cosco and PSA joined hands to set up Cosco-PSA Terminals, to manage and operate two terminals at Pasir Panjang with the capacity to handle more than one million TEUs annually.

PSA's latest joint venture with MSC comes as the Singapore-based port operator and other Asian port operators such as Hong Kong's Hutchison Whampoa have been benefiting from increased demand for low-cost Asian goods from Europe and the United States, which has fuelled growth in world trade and shipping.

Analysts said that as global trade volumes continue to grow, PSA would continue to see strong business growth.

Almost 80 per cent of global trade is shipped by sea.

Global trade grew by a robust 9 per cent last year - the best annual performance since 2000, although a slight slowdown is expected this year.

PSA, which is a unit of state-owned investment company Temasek, has 41 berths in Singapore, and plans to add another 11 by 2011.

The addition will boost its annual capacity to 31 million containers.

PSA is among the world's largest port operators, with its flagship operations in Singapore and Belgium.

Its global network of 18 port projects spans 11 countries, including China, India, Japan and South Korea. It has projects in Europe as well.

Last year, it handled a total of 33.1 million TEUs of containers at its ports around the world, including 20.6 million TEUs in Singapore.

Both the numbers have already been exceeded this year, with PSA's total operations up 23.2 per cent in the period from January to November from a year ago.

PSA said last week that it had handled 37.3 million TEUs, up from 30.2 million.

narendra@sph.com.sg

From strength to strength

PSA's growth is expected to surge in sync with growth in global trade as 80 per cent of the world's imports and exports are shipped by sea.

Global trade grew 9 per cent last year - the best annual performance since 2000, though a slight slowdown is expected this year.

PSA, a unit of state-owned investment firm Temasek, has 41 berths in Singapore, and will add another 11 by 2011, boosting annual capacity to 31 million containers.

Last year, PSA handled a total of 33.1 million TEUs of containers at its ports around the world, including 20.6 million TEUs in Singapore.

Both these numbers have already been exceeded this year, with PSA's total operations up 23.2 per cent in the period from January to November from a year ago. It said last week that it had handled 37.3 million TEUs in the first 11 months, up from 30.2 million.

Copyright © 2005 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.

Business Times - 28 Dec 2005

CHEMICALS SECTOR
Go-ahead for 2 mega projects likely by Q2

By RONNIE LIM

(SINGAPORE) 2006 is set to be a 'cracker' of a year for Singapore's chemical cluster, with the likely go-ahead for another two multi-billion dollar petrochemical plants - by Shell and ExxonMobil - expected by the second quarter, sources said.

'Both cracker projects are looking positive to proceed,' one industry official said. 'But the concern will be in getting resources to build the mega plants concurrently.'

Shell in late-November announced it was now determining the Bukom cracker's final design and cost before giving the greenlight. It awarded contracts for the basic design and engineering to the ABB-Lummus Global-Toyo Engineering Corporation joint venture and expects to get the cracker operating in 2009, given the building time of three years.

ExxonMobil followed suit just a few weeks later, appointing its current Singapore plant site manager, Georges Grosliere, as the project executive for its new cracker, and also awarded a project coordination and services contract to Foster Wheeler and WorleyParsons.

They will now evaluate demand for products from this second cracker, especially by China and India, as well as determine the project's cost, including steel and construction services.

'ExxonMobil normally doesn't announce a project unless it's a sure thing,' a source said of the significance of the company's statement earlier this month.

Shell's Bukom cracker - reportedly of one million tonnes per annum capacity - will add to its two existing crackers with a total capacity of 1.4 million tpa on Jurong Island. It operates these jointly with a Sumitomo-led Japanese consortium under Petrochemical Corporation of Singapore.

ExxonMobil's new cracker will be comparable or marginally larger than its existing one on Jurong Island, which is currently being upgraded to 900,000 tpa. The project also includes downstream plants for polyethylene, polypropylene, and specialty elastomers.

A construction source said that 'it's quiet in Singapore at the moment, as most of the on-going studies are being done in Houston or The Hague.' But 'it's a concern building two mega projects at the same time,' he conceded, especially with the timing for both now likely to coincide.

While industry officials have downplayed the market aspects, saying that such mega projects are built based on long-term demand considerations, there are, however, some concerns over possible construction bottlenecks.

One construction source said 'while steel prices have eased, it may be a headache getting the skilled resources like engineers, welders and technicians required to build the Singapore crackers, each of which will require 5,000 to 6,000 workers during construction.'

'The problem is not so much the manpower pull from petrochemical projects in China, as most of the major ones there have been completed. Rather, it is from the Middle East.'

Hubert Puchner, chief executive of Borouge - a joint venture between Abu Dhabi National Oil Company and Europe's Borealis - said recently that with five to 10 Middle East complexes coming up by 2010, 'people bottlenecks are popping up' as they will all consume engineering and construction workers at the same time.

Apart from manpower from neighbouring Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand, the Singapore projects are also expected to recruit Bangladeshi, Pakistani, Indian and Filipino workers - all of which are also in demand in the Middle East.

The construction source added that 'there is also a limited list of eight to nine Singapore subcontractors, like SembCorp, Rotary, and Plant Engineering Construction, which the main contractors will have to draw on.'

The bottom line, he said, is that 'both Shell and ExxonMobil will be very concerned about escalating prices, and they will have to show to their respective boards that they can minimise this, to help minimise risks.'

'But both projects now look like they will proceed, with the decisions expected by the second quarter of 2006.'

Copyright © 2005 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.

Business Times - 30 Dec 2005

PSA terminal sets handling record in India

(SINGAPORE) PSA-operated Tuticorin Container Terminal has set a container-handling record in India, achieving a vessel rate of 103 moves an hour.

Starting just before midnight on Dec 21, it moved a total of 1,500 Twenty-foot Equivalent Units of containers from Evergreen Marine Corporation's vessel Hatsu Prima by 9.45am the next day, or in less than 10 hours.

'This is the first time we have crossed the 100 moves per hour mark with three cranes deployed on one vessel,' said John Quok, general manager of PSA SICAL Terminals, which operates Tuticorin, a gateway to South India.

'On average, one box from Hatsu Prima was moved out of the terminal every six minutes. This fast clearance continued despite the three-day Christmas holidays.'

Just the day before, Tuticorin set a vessel rate of 66 moves an hour and a gross crane rate of 34 moves an hour with Zim Line's vessel North Sea.

Slow clearance of containers from terminals is one of the key challenges facing port operators in India, but Tuticorin has an extensive road network that is congestion-free, ample off-dock container yards and expanding capacity at container freight stations to increase speed, PSA says.

Tuticorin is also well-connected by road and rail to the major industrial centres of Bangalore, Chennai, Kochi, Coimbatore, Madurai and Tirupur. It has direct services to the United States, Europe, China, Middle East, Asia and Africa and feeder connections to Singapore and other cities.

Copyright © 2005 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.

Business Times - 11 Jan 2006

P&O receives rival bid approach from PSA

LONDON - British ports and ferries group P&O said it had received a &pound3.5 billion (US$6.2 billion) bid approach from Singaporean state-owned port operator PSA International, trumping an agreed offer from Dubai Ports.

P&O said in a statement on Tuesday that the approach valued its stock at 470 pence per share, compared to an earlier offer of 443p a share from Dubai Ports in a deal agreed last November. PSA is wholly owned by Temasek, the Singapore government investment agency, which already owns 4.1 per cent of the British firm. A deal would help both PSA and P&O expand in regions where they have traditionally had a weaker presence.

P&O said the offer from the world's second biggest port operator was subject to the Singaporean group conducting due diligence and receiving the unanimous recommendation of P&O's board. P&O had been due to call an extraordinary shareholder meeting to vote on the Dubai offer on Jan 20 but said it had delayed the meeting for two weeks to give PSA enough time to decide whether to make an a formal bid.

A source close to the process said PSA would begin sifting through P&O's books as soon as possible with a view to making a firm offer within weeks. Another source close to the matter said Dubai Ports would wait to see if PSA submitted a formal offer before contemplating raising its bid. -- REUTERS

Copyright © 2005 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.

Business Times - 11 Jan 2006

PSA, Hutchison eyeing Indon port project: reports

Bojonegara International Port may become leading gateway

By DONALD URQUHART

(SINGAPORE) Indonesia's 6.5 trillion rupiah (S$1.1 billion) Bojonegara container port could be back on track to being the country's foremost container port, after PSA International and Hutchison Port Holdings (HPH) both expressed interest in the project.

The construction of the Bojonegara International Port (BIP) in Banten, West Java is initially aimed at providing a buffer for the country's main container port at Tanjung Priok which is expected to reach maximum capacity of 3.7 million TEUs by 2008.

But port analysts say that BIP could well become the country's foremost container port if investment conditions are right.

The development of container handling terminals at the port has already been delayed once and is now two years behind schedule after a previous agreement between the government and a consortium of HPH and an Indonesian party failed over a financial dispute.

The port is being developed by state port operator PT Pelindo II with 3.5 trillion rupiah being financed from state coffers and the remainder from private investors.

Indonesian media reports quoted transportation department officials as saying that both PSA and HPH had indicated their interest in the 1.9 trillion rupiah first phase of the project which will see an annual container capacity of 1.12 million by 2009. But both have also reportedly asked for guarantees that no additional container ports will be built in the vicinity in order to protect their investment.

The port is currently handling liquid bulk cargo and limited container volumes with a fully operational container terminal slated by 2009, with phase two seeing an expansion of the terminal and the addition of ro-ro capabilities by 2015.

Stage three will see further container terminal expansion with a capacity of about three million TEUs by 2025. The project is one of a number of port projects identified last year by the Indonesian central government as high priority hub projects.

The government is hoping, in much the same vein as the Malaysian government's decision to build the Port of Tanjung Pelepas, to stem the flow of import/export cargoes through Singapore's container terminals.

The Indonesian Ministry of Transport has previously estimated that nearly 80 per cent of the country's import/export activities go via Singapore, resulting in a loss of more than US$2 billion annually.

The efficiency of Pelindo's management of ports across the Indonesian archipelago has been widely questioned with legal disputes increasingly common between regional administrations and the state body over jurisdictional issues.

The most recent dispute involved PT Pelindo II and the Jakarta administration over the construction of the five trillion rupiah Jakarta New Port which has yet to be started.

Copyright © 2005 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.

Business Times - 13 Jan 2006

S'pore port records growth across all sectors

But Shanghai gains world's top spot in cargo tonnage, 5% ahead of S'pore

By DONALD URQUHART

(SINGAPORE) The Singapore port continues its record-breaking roll with growth across all sectors in 2005, although the bustling port of Shanghai is fast catching up.

Container cargo traffic - the lifeblood of Singapore's port - increased 8.7 per cent in 2005 over the year before, hitting 23.2 million TEUs (20-foot containers) on the back of soaring Chinese exports.

Overall cargo tonnage rose by 7.6 per cent year on year to an impressive 423 million tonnes last year, but not enough to retain top global position.

China's resurgent commercial capital, Shanghai, took top place as the world's busiest cargo port in terms of cargo tonnage, outstripping Singapore's volume by nearly 5 per cent.

Its total cargo throughput rose 16.9 per cent to 443 million tonnes in 2005, some 21 million tonnes more than Singapore, according to the Shanghai Port Administration Bureau.

Shanghai's rapidly growing containerised cargo volumes still rank the port as the third busiest - behind Singapore and Hong Kong, but it is seen as only a matter of time before it passes these two rivals.

Shanghai handled a total of 18.08 million TEUs in 2005, up 24.3 per cent. The Chinese port leapfrogged Rotterdam in 2004.

The new Singapore benchmarks also include ship arrivals based on shipping tonnage which pushed across the one billion gross ton mark for the first time in 2004.

Last year, shipping tonnage grew an additional 10.5 per cent to reach 1.15 billion gross tons for 2005, making Singapore the busiest port in the world once again.

Bunker sales were also up over 8 per cent in 2005 over the year before, reaching 25 million tonnes, which again makes Singapore the world's busiest bunkering port.

More ships are now flying the Singapore flag, with the total tonnage in the Singapore Registry of Ships rising 19 per cent last year to reach 33 million gross tons for 3,200 vessels.

Singapore's Approved International Shipping Enterprise scheme has also continued to do well, with 20 new companies joining last year, bringing the total to 60.

Speaking at a Singapore Maritime Foundation event yesterday, Minister of State for Finance and Transport Lim Hwee Hua said the continued growth and record-breaking performance would not have been possible without the unflagging support of the local maritime and shipping community.

'We are fortunate that we have a vibrant and prosperous maritime cluster in Singapore that builds on one another's successes and strengths,' Mrs Lim said. She pledged continuing government support to the maritime and shipping industry in Singapore, saying it was a commitment 'for the long haul'.

'You can expect unflagging effort on our part to improve your business environment. This is an enduring quality that sets us apart in the face of competition.'

Copyright © 2005 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.

Jan 14, 2006
PSA moves record volumes both at home and abroad
With Jurong Port also seeing strong growth, S'pore may now be world's busiest port

By Narendra Aggarwal
Economics Correspondent

JUST days after announcing a $10 billion move for British port giant P&O, Singapore's PSA International has unveiled figures showing that it set new records last year at both its home ports as well as its fast-growing port network abroad.

Taking all its ports together, PSA notched up impressive 24.4 per cent growth in container volumes globally last year by moving 41.18 million standard-sized containers.

PSA is already the world's No. 2 container port operator.

If the P&O deal goes through - it is currently only a conditional approach - it will catapult over the global leader, Hong Kong's Hutchison Whampoa, to take top spot.

PSA's offer is 6 per cent higher than the existing offer from rival Dubai Ports World - although the Dubai company has just raised a massive US$3.5 billion (S$5.7 billion) from the world's biggest ever Islamic bond issue.

Last year, PSA's business was boosted by increased global trade, thanks to strong demand in the United States and Europe for cheap Asian goods, most notably those from China.

PSA said yesterday that it handled an all-time high of 22.28 million standard containers in Singapore last year.

This was up a healthy 8.1 per cent over the boxes moved in 2004.

But overseas growth was much more dramatic as the company pushed aggressively to enlarge its global footprint.

Although the overseas total, at 18.9 million standard containers, was well below the Singapore figure, it was a sharp 51.3 per cent jump over the 2004 figure.

'As a global port operator, PSA's buoyant performance in 2005 mirrored the continuing expansion of trade and growth in the world's economies,' said PSA International chief executive Eddie Teh.

With its flagship operations in Singapore and Belgium, PSA has a network of 19 port projects in 11 countries.

Meanwhile, the Republic's smaller multi-purpose Jurong Port also yesterday reported a robust 28.81 per cent increase in container throughput to 912,000 standard containers moved last year.

Industry-watchers said that it is likely that the Republic might have overtaken Hong Kong as the world's busiest container port last year. Hong Kong will release its data on Monday.

PSA and Jurong Port together handled a record 23.2 million containers last year - a healthy increase of 8.7 per cent over 2004 figures, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore said on Thursday.

Dubai Ports World's recent bond issue enjoyed strong demand, giving the rapidly expanding company 25 per cent more money than it sought at an unexpectedly low cost.

The issuer of the two-year convertible bond is the Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation, holding company of Dubai Ports World, which is bracing for a multi-billion-dollar bidding war with PSA over P&O.

The bond, or sukuk , had been expected to attract intense interest, given that Islamic bond issues are relatively rare.

But the lead managers said demand exceeded even their own estimates.

narendra@sph.com.sg

Copyright © 2005 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.

http://sg.yimg.com/i/sg/providers/reuters.gif
Thursday January 26
PSA close to P&O bid, Dubai to counter - sources

LONDON, Jan 25 (Reuters) - Singapore's PSA International is close to a takeover offer for UK ports group P&O as rival Dubai Ports World prepares to strike back with a multibillion dollar counterbid, sources familiar with the situation said.

"I would be amazed if it didn't come out in the next couple of days," one source told Reuters on Wednesday, saying a formal offer was most likely on Thursday.

Advisers for PSA, a port operator wholly owned by Temasek Holdings [TEM.UL], were working round the clock to get the offer out ahead of the start of Chinese New Year celebrations this weekend when executives from the Singapore-based firm hope to return home to their families, another source said.

"It has been widely expected by the end of the week," a third source said.

DP World, P&O and PSA declined to comment.

PSA has said previously it may make a 470 pence a share offer for P&O, subject to due diligence, valuing P&O at 3.5 billion pounds ($6.24 billion) and trumping Dubai Ports' earlier 443p bid.

Dubai Ports, owned by the government of the Arab emirate, which is trying to emulate Singapore's success as a commercial hub, was preparing to strike back with a counter offer, two sources told Reuters.

One source said Dubai Ports was unlikely to table a counter offer until a P&O shareholder vote on its initial bid, scheduled no later than Feb. 15, was cancelled.

Last year, PSA spent about $1 billion to buy a stake in a container terminal in Hong Kong from conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa .

Dubai Ports has launched a lobbying drive behind the scenes to convince regulators and politicians that PSA's close ties with Hutchison Whampoa would make a successful P&O bid anti-competitive, sources said.

Dubai Ports argues the enlarged group would dominate the importing and pricing of goods in some of the world's top trading gateways, particularly China, sources said.

Shares in P&O, a 165-year-old maritime icon formed at the height of Britain's sea power, closed 0.5 percent lower at 507 pence.

Copyright © 2006 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.

Jan 26, 2006
P&O goes for PSA's takeover bid

LONDON - British shipping group P&O said on Thursday that it had accepted a takeover bid from Singapore's PSA International of 470 pence per share.

The offer values P&O, or the Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Company, at 3.545 billion pounds (US$6.4 billion).

P&O had already accepted a rival bid of 443 pence per share from Dubai-based DP World, but said the new offer from PSA was 6.0 per cent higher.

'Accordingly, the directors of P&O unanimously recommend the offers and have withdrawn their recommendation' of the rival offer, a statement from the company said.

The new offer from PSA is 55-per-cent higher than the price of P&O shares on Oct 27 last year, when speculation began about a takeover of the company, P and O said.

PSA International is a unit of Singapore state investment firm Temasek Holdings.

The race between it and DP World was one for container terminals, which are booming as United States and European demand for low-cost Asian goods fuels trade growth. About 80 per cent of global trade moves by sea.

Analysts say the battle is pivotal to PSA, which needs to expand overseas.

Among P&O's 29 terminals in 18 countries are its crown jewels in China and India, the fastest-growing economies in the world. -- AFP

Copyright © 2005 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.

Jan 28, 2006
Battle for P&O boils down to cost versus strategic value
PSA may pull a surprise due to importance of size in port business

By Azrin Asmani
Companies Correspondent

WITH Dubai Ports World (DP World) trouncing the $10 billion bid by Singapore's PSA International for British port operator P&O, the deal is now escalating beyond economic sense - but it may still be worth it for the victor, say corporate financiers.

The bidding war is shaping up to be one of financial cost versus strategic value, they said.

The value attached to the 169-year-old London-based company that commands 29 ports in 18 countries is one that may not be easily quantified, they added.

DP World yesterday turned up the heat in the battle for the prized asset after it tabled a counter-bid at 520 pence a share, or �3.9 billion (S$11.3 billion).

Its latest move came barely 12 hours after PSA made an offer of 470 pence a share for P&O - or to give its full name, Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation - which worked out to �3.7 billion.

And last night, the big question was: Will PSA up the ante to snare P&O?

Taking a hint from P&O's share price, which shot to an intra-day high of 557 pence on the London bourse yesterday, a counter-offer from PSA might be on the cards.

But some observers doubt if PSA has the financial muscle to even match DP World's latest offer.

'My bet is, this is it. The bidding war is now too ridiculous at current prices and PSA has no more juice left,' an observer said.

P&O shares were trading yesterday at an estimated price-earnings ratio of well over 30 times, taking it to valuation levels that are difficult for PSA to justify, observers added.

Price-earnings ratio - calculated by dividing a company's share price by its earnings per share - gives investors an idea of how much they are paying for a company's earnings power.

It is also believed that PSA, which is an unlisted entity and owned by Temasek Holdings, is independently valued at $10 billion to $12 billion.

To outbid DP World, PSA needs to raise its offer to �4.1 billion, or about $11.9 billion.

That would match its own worth, making it difficult to raise the much-needed funds through borrowings.

PSA has so far raised �3.55 billion for the P&O deal with the assistance of global investment banks Goldman Sachs, Royal Bank of Scotland and UBS Bank.

PSA also has cash reserves of about $2 billion in its war chest, based on its 2004 financial figures.

The port operator has yet to release last year's financial performance figures.

'From a business standpoint, the P&O acquisition will certainly make PSA bigger. And in the port business, bigger is certainly better.

'But if PSA were to fund its purchase entirely using debt, it would place an enormous stress on its financials,' Standard & Poor's credit analyst Greg Pau told The Straits Times yesterday.

PSA's latest offer of �3.7 billion, if entirely funded by borrowings and if it were to succeed, would raise its total debt to earnings before depreciation, interest and tax ratio to eight times, which does not augur well.

Raising the bid would only add further stress to PSA's balance sheet.

Mr Pau added: 'Hypothetically, only an additional equity injection into PSA, from either Temasek or any other third parties, could ease the stress the P&O deal would have on its financials.'

DP World is also said to be borrowing to finance the deal, with the help of financial giants Barclays Bank and Deutsche Bank.

But unlike PSA, DP World has far deeper pockets and it faces less scrutiny in terms of corporate governance.

'Dubai is a kingdom with deep pockets while Singapore is a democracy. PSA is linked to Temasek, whose pocket is filled with tax payers' money,' an observer said.

But despite that, corporate financiers agreed that the strategic nature of the deal might lead to PSA doing the unthinkable as 'size does matter' in the global port business.

Port operators need to grow bigger to establish symbiotic relationships with the ever-growing global shipping companies such as Maersk Sealand, in order to be on a par with them to negotiate business terms.

Synergies and cost-efficiencies are among other benefits that can be derived from commanding a larger network of global ports.

It is in this light that the P&O deal should be viewed, observers said, citing the premium PSA paid in its US$800 million (S$1.3 billion) deal to buy a 20 per cent stake in Hongkong International Terminal last year.

Another example cited is DBS Bank's acquisition of Hong Kong's Dao Heng Bank in 2001.

DBS then paid three times Dao Heng's book value in the $10 billion deal, which chief executive Jackson Tai said was justified to transform DBS into a regional powerhouse.

As one market-watcher said: 'Such deals usually determine whether you are far-sighted or myopic in your investment strategy.'

azrin@sph.com.sg

Clash of the Sea Titans

PSA International

What it is:

Formed as a statutory board, the Port of Singapore Authority, in 1964 but was commercialised in 1997 to become PSA Corporation.

Transformed itself into a global port operator, adopting a new corporate structure in 2003. PSA International is now the main holding company for the PSA group of companies - including PSA Corp - and responsible for its local and international operations.

Who owns it:

Fully owned by Singapore's investment company Temasek Holdings.

Port operations in:

Asia - Singapore, China, India, Japan, South Korea, Thailand and Brunei

Europe - Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy and Portugal

Size matters:

Handled 41.2 million standard-sized containers globally last year and 33.1 million in 2004, making it the No. 2 port operator in the world.

What's on board:

£4.70 per share or £3.5 billion (S$10.2 billion).

P&O

What it is:

The London-based company was founded in 1837 to ship mail from Britain to Spain and Portugal. However, it expanded on the back of Britain's growing trading empire to became a major commercial and passenger liner operator, with operations that included ports, cruise and container lines. The group has trimmed its businesses in recent years, demerging P&O Cruises in 2000, for example, to focus on its terminal unit.

Who owns it:

Listed on the London Stock Exchange. Its major shareholders include Schroders, Threadneedle Asset Management and Insight Investment Management, with a total shareholding of about 19 per cent.

Port operations in:

Asia - China, India, Thailand, Philippines and Indonesia

Americas - United States and Argentina

Europe - Belgium and Britain

Africa - Mozambique

Australia

Size matters:

It is the fourth-largest port operator in the world, handling 21.9 million standard-sized containers in 2004.

Dubai Ports World

What it is:

New entity created by the integration of the Dubai Ports Authority (DPA) and its international arm Dubai Ports International in September last year. DPA focused on the home ports at Rashid and Jebel Ali while DPI, formed in 1999, started off with managing ports in the Middle East, India and Europe.

In January last year, DPI expanded its network with the acquisition of CSX World Terminals, the international terminal business of US-based CSX Corp.

Who owns it:

Dubai's government

Port operations in:

Africa - Djibouti

Asia - India, China and South Korea

Europe - Germany and Romania

Latin America - Venezuela and Dominican Republic

Middle East - Dubai, Saudi Arabia and Turkey

Australia

Size matters:

Handled 13 million standard-sized containers globally last year and 8.1 million in 2004, making it the No. 6 port operator in the world.

What's on board:

Raised its offer for P&O to £5.20 a share, or £3.92 billion on Thursday after PSA International put in a bid at £4.70 a share. DP World had earlier offered £4.43 per share, or £3.3 billion, in November last year.

Copyright © 2005 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.

Business Times - 07 Feb 2006

PSA's stake in P&O sitting on &pound29m paper profit

Share price is up 22% since stake was acquired in Dec

By WONG WEI KONG

(SINGAPORE) The outcome of the takeover battle for Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Co (P&O) is still uncertain - but Singapore port operator PSA is already sitting on a pretty profit to the tune of more than &pound29 million (S$84 million).

The 4.1 per cent stake that PSA - wholly owned by Singapore investment company Temasek Holdings - acquired in the UK port operator early last December is now worth 22 per cent more, as speculation of a bidding war pushed up the price of P&O shares in the past two months. PSA is vying with Dubai Ports World (DP World), which is also state-backed, for control of P&O.

PSA's stake in P&O cost about 136 million. PSA announced on Dec 2 the acquisition of a 3.24 per cent stake or 24.2 million shares. The price paid was 440.9 pence per share. A few days later, it was disclosed that the stake had been raised to 4.1 per cent through the purchase of a further 6.45 million shares at 456 pence each.

In early London trading yesterday, P&0 shares were down 2.5 per cent at 536 pence, as news agencies carried a Business Times report suggesting that PSA could quit the bidding war. Still, at current prices, PSA's stake in P&O is worth &pound165.24 million - or &pound29.3 million more than it paid.

The bidding war for P&O started in late November last year, when DP World offered &pound3.33 billion or 443 pence a share for the UK company. PSA jumped in last month with a counter offer of 3.5 billion or 470 pence per share.

DP World then hit back with a &pound3.92 billion offer, or 520 pence per share. PSA is expected to decide its next move by the end of this week. Winning P&O will make PSA the world's largest port operator.

The fight for P&O has been music to the ears of fund managers who hold the stock. Prudential Asset Management (Singapore), for instance, said the P&O takeover bid 'has spelt great news' for its PRU Global Basics Fund. P&O is the fund's second biggest holding, making up 3.9 per cent of the S$2.8 billion portfolio.

'The stock typifies the sort of company the fund manager, Graham French, likes,' Prudential said in a newsletter to investors. 'The market perception of the company was that of a struggling ferry operator, yet the reality is that it owns global container ports around the world at a time when shipping volumes are growing exponentially.

'While we are not an M&A fund, holding shares in a fundamentally attractive company where the takeover potential has not yet been priced in, has worked to our advantage.' The fund first bought P&O shares in May 2002 at 240 pence.

Copyright © 2005 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.

Feb 11, 2006
PSA pulls out of billion-dollar race for P&O

By Chua Kong Ho

IN ONE corner, money was no object. In the other, cash came with accountability.

Last night, deep pockets won. Singapore's PSA International pulled out of the billion-dollar battle for British ports operator P&O, leaving its Dubai rival the winner.

A three-month bidding war between the two ended with PSA opting not to trump a huge bid by Dubai Ports World (DP World) for the glittering prize.

To go another round 'would not make commercial sense', said PSA in a statement last night.

PSA's pullout - just days ahead of Monday's vote by P&O shareholders on whether to accept a bid on the table by DP World - dashes dreams of a victory that would have made it the world's No. 1 port operator.

But it does not leave the table entirely empty-handed - PSA, which is owned by Singapore's Temasek Holdings, stands to gain about £24 million (S$68.6 million) from the 4 per cent stake it already holds in P&O, once the Dubai deal goes through.

Round One had kicked off last November when DP World - Dubai's state-owned port operator - made a £3.3 billion takeover offer.

PSA countered on Jan 25 with a £3.5 billion bid valuing P&O at 470 pence a share.

But barely had it popped open the champagne when DP World punched back 12 hours later, raising its bid to £3.92 billion, or 520 pence a share for the 169-year-old company.

Was PSA on the ropes, or would it launch a knock-out offer? During the week, signs emerged in financial markets that it was set to walk away.

The yield on PSA's 10-year bonds fell 2.3 per cent, reflecting bondholders' optimism that PSA would not table a new improved bid as the Monday deadline loomed, OCBC Investment Research analyst Suan Teck Kin told The Straits Times. The deal would have weakened PSA's financial position, increasing the rate of return holders of debt would have wanted.

Last night, the waiting was over. PSA said in a statement that while the British ports-and-ferries group offered 'an attractive opportunity' to expand its global reach, it believed that its 470 pence-a-share offer represented a 'full and fair value'.

'For PSA to pay more than this price would not be compatible with commercial business sense and PSA's future success.'

To outbid DP World, PSA would have needed to raise its offer to £4.1 billion, or about $11.7 billion.

That would match its own worth, making it difficult to raise the much-needed funds through borrowings, observers had noted.

PSA chairman Fock Siew Wah declined to be interviewed yesterday.

A jubilant DP World chairman, Sultan Ahmed Sulayem, told Reuters from Dubai: 'We are waiting for the shareholder vote. Yes, we are confident, we have always been confident.'

But Mr Neil Davidson, director of London-based Drewry Shipping Consultants, told The Straits Times: 'I expect PSA to chase even harder for acquisitions now, though it'd likely be individual terminals and not an entire port group.'

There are opportunities in countries such as Turkey, South Africa and Ecuador, which are privatising their ports, he said.

However, observers noted that this would not provide the 'big bang' that buying P&O and its 29 ports would have given.

Copyright © 2005 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.

Exciting battle.....:yes:

Business Times - 01 Mar 2006

PSA's 2005 profit jumps 20%

SINGAPORE - PSA International achieved a 20 per cent rise in profits last year after it moved a record number of containers at its ports worldwide.

PSA said in a statement on Wednesday that full-year 2005 net profit rose 20 percent to $1.06 billion (US$655 million) from S$880.5 million a year earlier on a 2.7 percent sales rise to a record S$3.68 billion.

The company moved 41.2 million containers at its ports last year -- 24.4 per cent more than in 2005 and more than ever before -- partly due to its new Hong Kong operation.

PSA is owned by Singapore's state investment firm Temasek and runs the Singapore container port as well as ports in Belgium, Brunei, China, Hong Kong, India, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Portugal, South Korea and Thailand. -- REUTERS

Copyright © 2005 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.

:eek: wow...

Business Times - 02 Mar 2006

S'pore leading the world in good bunkering practices: MPA chief

NOPs received in 2005 'only 0.1% of total operations'

By GEORGE JOSEPH

J(SINGAPORE) The $7 billion Singapore bunkering industry has been leading the world in good bunker practices and much depends on the people along the bunker supply chain to maintain the integrity and standards of the industry.

In a speech aimed largely at rebutting recent media reports of alleged malpractices in the industry, Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) of Singapore chief executive BG Tay Lim Heng said yesterday that Singapore's bunkering standards have been recognised as international benchmarks. Moreover, there is sufficient avenue for recourse in the event of commercial disputes on the quantity or quality of bunkers.

Singapore has invested much energy and effort in introducing bunkering standards, he said, enumerating several of them which have been laid down over the years.

'These measures were introduced because we recognised the importance of safeguarding the interest of bunker buyers in Singapore,' he said at the opening ceremony of United States-based bunker testing laboratory Viswa Lab Corp's Singapore centre, its first outside the US.

Welcoming Viswa Lab's presence here as a testimony to the Republic's prominence as a global bunkering centre, BG Tay said the government believed in regulating the industry with a 'light touch'.

'Our bunkering safeguards were developed to facilitate the commercial transaction of bunkers. Market mechanisms would still be at play, dependent on both buyer and seller of bunkers agreeing on their contract terms, price, service, quality and quantity.

'Hence, much still depends on the stakeholders themselves. People along the bunker supply chain have to play an active role and conscientiously fulfil their responsibilities. They must be committed, diligent and with integrity, to make the existing systems work for them.'

He added: 'If both buyer and supplier adhere to the measures already in place, bunker disputes, whether on quality or quantity, will be minimised.'

He noted that the MPA received 30 Notes of Protest (NOP) out of 24,652 vessel calls for bunkers in 2005, or only 0.1 per cent of all of Singapore's bunkering operations.

This small percentage of NOPs received here clearly underscored the effectiveness of Singapore's bunkering measures, he added.

Emphasising the merits of lodging NOPs directly with the MPA and the Singapore Shipping Association, the MPA chief also warned that disputes would be investigated robustly and stern action taken if bunkering codes are contravened.

NOPs made properly would also help MPA better monitor the bunkering industry so that more targeted measures to further improve bunkering services could be developed, if necessary, he said.

The International Bunker Industry Association (Ibia) has lauded Singapore's action to address recent problems in bunkering procedures and quality issues. Ibia chairman Don Gregory said the MPA's recent move to establish the Bunker Quality Advisory Panel was the 'next right step in the drive to raise industry standards and the image of the bunker industry'.

Copyright © 2005 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.

06 March 2006

PSA's joint venture with Mediterranean Shipping begins operations
By Matthias Chan, Channel NewsAsia

SINGAPORE : Swiss company Mediterranean Shipping Co (MSC) has become the second major global shipping line to operate a container terminal in Singapore.

The terminal, at Pasir Panjang, is a joint venture between MSC and port operator PSA.

It was officially launched on Monday.

This is only the second time PSA has allowed such foreign investment in its Singapore facilities, following a similar joint venture with Cosco Shipping in December 2003.

The MSC-PSA Asia Terminal (MPAT) manages and operates three berths at Pasir Panjang Terminal.

It has an annual capacity in excess of two million TEUs or standard container units.

These berths are capable of handling the world's largest containerships or mega vessels with capacity in excess of 9,000 TEUs.

This is the second such joint venture between PSA and a major shipping line in Singapore.

These tie-ups are part of efforts by the port operator to provide better service to customers and underpin its bottomline amid growing competition.

"We are guaranteed that for the life of the agreement, MSC will continue to base their operations in Singapore and not be scouting to go somewhere else. Basically it guarantees us their business," said Transport Minister Yeo Cheow Tong.

"Of course it has to be a win-win situation. That means the joint venture must be profitable so that they find it beneficial and will bring more volume to Singapore," he added.

And the volume game is important as PSA seeks to grow its presence in the global shipping industry.

Singapore regained its position as the world's busiest port last year after seven years. To maintain pole position, PSA hopes to increase domestic capacity by about 55% come 2011.

Organic growth is not the only strategy PSA is adopting for its growth strategy.

"I am sure they are looking for acquisitions, which they have done before in Europe, like the HNN terminals in Europe. They bought them over and that gave them a very big footprint in Europe. They also did similar acquisitions in other parts of Europe," said Mr Yeo.

PSA's overseas terminals accounted for 46% of its global throughput in 2005.
- CNA /ls

Copyright © 2006 MCN International Pte Ltd

Business Times - 13 Mar 2006

PSA Jan-Feb container traffic up 33%

SINGAPORE - Singapore port operator PSA's container traffic rose by a third in the first two months of this year, thanks to heavy traffic at its foreign business while growth at its home port slowed for the 11th straight month.

The firm, which runs ports in Singapore and abroad, said in a statement on Monday that it handled 7.19 million twenty-foot units (TEUs), a standard industry measure, compared with 5.41 million TEUs a year earlier. Container growth at PSA, which is owned by state investment firm Temasek, has been lifted since last August, when it began including container data from its newly acquired Hong Kong operations.

A year ago, PSA secured a foothold in Hong Kong when it bought stakes in two terminals from NWS Holdings for HK$3 billion (US$387 million). It bought a second set of port assets in Hong Kong four months later - improving its access to China's booming export and import market - when it spent nearly US$1 billion to acquire a stake in a container terminal in the territory from conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa .

The volume of TEUs moved through its flagship Singapore port - the world's busiest container port ahead of Hong Kong - increased to 3.56 million in the first two months of 2006, up 4.7 per cent from a year ago, but a slowdown from the 5.6 per cent increase recorded in January. Container movements at its foreign ports jumped 80.1 per cent to 3.62 million TEUs in the first two months.

PSA has investments in ports in Belgium, Brunei, China, India, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Portugal, South Korea and Thailand.

Copyright © 2005 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.

23rd Asian Freight And Supply Chain Awards: Singapore Remains Port Of Choice In Asia
22-04-2009

It is only the 23rd Asian Freight and Supply Chain Awards (AFSCA), but Singapore is named Best Seaport in Asia for the 21st time.

To bag the honour at the AFSCA ceremony in Hong Kong, Singapore edged out competitors such as the ports of Hong Kong and Klang, Malaysia, who were also nominated in the category.

A natural shoo-in for the title, Singapore excels in a number of areas. Not only is its port cost-competitive and container shipping-friendly, its maritime authorities also provides timely and adequate investment in port infrastructure to meet future demand, as well as facilitates ancillary services in, for instance, logistics and freight forwarding.

The prestigious award is received by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), whose strong partnerships with ship owners and operators, and international maritime communities are crucial to Singapore's success.

"It is the support of ship owners and operators and international maritime communities that has helped maritime Singapore gain global prominence," says BG (NS) Tay Lim Heng. "Winning the award for Best Seaport in Asia for the 21st time affirms the confidence the maritime community has in Singapore as its port of choice in Asia."

In 2008, Singapore's maritime and port sector hit new highs in vessel arrival tonnage, container throughput, and bunkering volumes. Vessel arrivals reached 1.6 billion gross tons (GT), an increase of 11.1 per cent from 2007. Container traffic grew by 7.1 per cent to hit 29.9 million TEUs, and the total volume of bunkers sold set a new record at 34.9 million tonnes.

To assist the industry in these challenging times, MPA has introduced various initiatives to help companies lower business costs and alleviate short-term difficulties. These include the reduction and deferment of port dues as well as extension of waiver schemes.

About the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA)
The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) was established on 2 February 1996, with the mission to develop Singapore as a premier global hub port and international maritime centre (IMC), and to advance and safeguard Singapore's strategic maritime interests. MPA is the driving force behind Singapore's port and maritime development, taking on the roles of Port Authority, Port Regulator, Port Planner, IMC Champion, and National Maritime Representative. MPA partners the industry and other agencies to enhance safety, security and environmental protection in our port waters, facilitate port operations and growth, grow the cluster of maritime ancillary services, and promote maritime R&D and manpower development.

Further cooperation in Maritime R&D in 4th MoU between Singapore and Norway
08-06-2009

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) and the Research Council of Norway (RCN) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) today, renewing their bilateral agreement on maritime education, training and Research and Development (R&D) for another three years.

"The renewal of the MoU attests to the success of Singapore's collaboration with Norway in maritime R&D, and paves the way for further cooperation that will benefit the Singapore maritime cluster including the port, shipping, offshore and marine engineering, and the maritime services sectors," says MPA chief executive Mr Lam Yi Young. "By facilitating the sharing of ideas, experiences and expertise to promote maritime R&D collaborations and activities, the MPA-RCN MoU contributes to Singapore's development as an international maritime centre."

In addition to existing research in the fields of offshore and marine engineering, maritime operations and infocomm technology, the new MoU also focuses on marine environment and sustainable energy technology.

One clean shipping technology project already under the MPA-RCN MoU is the three-year Integrated Shipboard Wastewater Treatment System project, or MEMSHIP. Driven by the National University of Singapore's Institute of Environmental Science and Engineering and the NorwegianUniversity of Science and Technology, MEMSHIP uses membrane technology for compact and efficient treatment of wastewater, thereby promoting more environmentally-friendly shipping.

Expected to be commercially-ready in two years' time, MEMSHIP will provide the shipping industry with a more cost-effective way to treat wastewater, compared to existing systems. More importantly, it can assist ships in meeting international shipping regulations that disallow the discharge of sewage into the sea.

"The maritime R&D collaboration with Singapore has been instrumental in bringing Norwegian universities and technology providers closer to partners in Singapore and Asia. With the renewal of the MoU, Norwegian technology and competence providers will further strengthen their network with the maritime community in Singapore to address global issues and opportunities in this industry,” says RCN director general Mr Arvid Hallén.

Another research project under the MPA-RCN MoU is a two-year collaboration between NanyangTechnologicalUniversity and Norway's Det Norske Veritas, involving the use of three-dimensional fracture and damage mechanics to develop more accurate and reliable criteria for assessing the integrity of subsea and land pipelines.

The MPA-RCN MoU also facilitated a project between the Agency for Science, Technology & Research's Institute for Infocomm Research and the Norwegian Marine Technology Research Institute. Providing wireless broadband coverage up to 100 kilometres from Singapore port waters, this project will enable ships to rely on the WiMAX mesh network to communicate, submit regulatory documents and transfer data well ahead of their arrival to Singapore.

The fourth MPA-RCN MoU signing between Mr Lam and RCN Director-General Arvid Hallen was conducted at the RCN office in Oslo. First signed in 2000, and renewed in 2003 and 2006, the MoU is in line with MPA's commitment to leverage R&D as a key enabler in the growth and development of the Singapore maritime cluster.

New Financial Assistance Scheme For Bunker Surveying Companies
16-06-2009

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) is introducing a new financial assistance scheme for bunker surveying companies, announced MPA chief executive Mr Lam Yi Young at the christening of the bunker tanker, Spectrum, at Marina at Keppel Bay.

This scheme will grant bunker surveying companies a one-time 30 per cent financial relief on the assessment fee when they attain their accreditation credentials with the Singapore Accreditation Council (SAC) under the Accreditation Scheme for Inspection Bodies. More than 70 per cent of bunker surveying companies in Singapore stand to benefit from the financial assistance scheme.

Under an initiative announced last year, from 1 January 2010, all bunker surveyors will need to be employed by companies that are accredited under the Accreditation Scheme.

"The Accreditation Scheme for bunker surveying companies is an important initiative that we should press on with despite the economic situation," says Mr Lam. "MPA's new financial assistance scheme will defray part of the accreditation cost and help them keep to the timeline for accreditation."

Bunker surveying companies play an important role in the bunker supply chain. A formal and structured accreditation process enhances the accountability and professionalism of bunker surveying companies, and also raises the standards of surveying practices in tandem with the increasing demands of the bunkering business.

Eligible bunker surveying companies have up to 31 December 2009 to submit their applications to MPA. Instructions on how to apply for financial assistance under this scheme will be provided in a Port Marine Circular.
<End of release>

About the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA)
The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) was established on 2 February 1996, with the mission to develop Singapore as a premier global hub port and international maritime centre (IMC), and to advance and safeguard Singapore's strategic maritime interests. MPA is the driving force behind Singapore's port and maritime development, taking on the roles of Port Authority, Port Regulator, Port Planner, IMC Champion, and National Maritime Representative. MPA partners the industry and other agencies to enhance safety, security and environmental protection in our port waters, facilitate port operations and growth, grow the cluster of maritime ancillary services, and promote maritime R&D and manpower development.

Shipping sector more confident, says SSA chief
25 June 09 The Business Times
by Vincent Wee

(SINGAPORE) The shipping industry is more confident about the second half of this year, as the downturn looks like it has bottomed out, newly re-elected Singapore Shipping Association (SSA) president SS Teo said yesterday.

'There is more confidence among carriers that the rate restorations now being implemented will be successful,' he said on the sidelines of SSA's annual general meeting.

But he warned that although the liner business has bottomed, 'recovery may take a while and things may not return to the levels seen in the boom years'.

Ships are filling up in the various trade lanes, but they could be carrying freight at low rates, Mr Teo said.

Still, with container traffic beginning to edge back up, shipping lines are 'starting to see reason, increase rates and pull away from the irresponsible price-cutting seen in the past few months'.

'In this business, there is no such thing as being the last man standing. Nobody can sustain the losses seen over the past few months,' Mr Teo said.

There will be more rate recovery moves in the months ahead, as rates are still 40 per cent down from 2007 levels, he said.

Finance remains a concern for SSA members. While trade financing seems to have freed up in recent months, ship financing remains a problem.

Banks have tightened the purse strings in their dealings with shipowners. Not only are they less keen to lend, they are also putting the squeeze on owners as loan-to-value ratios fall amid plunging ship prices, Mr Teo said.

'Banks and owners need to work together and the ship finance community must remember that shipping is a long-term, capital-intensive business.'

SSA has also revealed its position on the burning issue of greenhouse gas emissions - putting itself firmly in the bunker levy scheme camp that advocates market-based measures to control the emissions, rather than schemes that would involve trading carbon credits.

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) is developing technical, operational and market-based measures to help reduce emissions. Technical and operational measures include an Energy Efficiency Design Index for new ships and an Energy Efficiency Operational Indicator for shipping.

As for market-based measures, SSA supports the establishment of a greenhouse gas compensation fund, as discussed by IMO.

'This compensation fund for the shipping industry, when adopted under the auspices of IMO, should be applied across the board to enable a level playing field,' Mr Teo said. 'The funding mechanism should be transparent, rigorous, enforceable and deliver measurable reductions.'

SSA's seven-member council has been elected for a new two-year term from 2009 to 2011. A newcomer on the council is Pacific Carriers, represented by executive director Gerald Seow.

S'pore players excel at Seatrade awards
30 June 09 The Business Times
by Vincent Wee

(SINGAPORE) Singapore companies shone at the Seatrade Asia Awards 2009 in Shanghai - among them rig-builder Jurong Shipyard, which won the Offshore Yard award, and PSA, which won the Container Terminal award.

'Jurong Shipyard is honoured to receive the Seatrade Offshore Yard award,' said Wong Weng Sun, president of Jurong Shipyard's parent Sembcorp Marine. 'It is testimony to the yard's strong track record and proven capabilities in delivering quality and innovative offshore and rig-building solutions to the oil and gas industry.'

Meanwhile, Ecospec - which burst on to the scene this year with its CSNOx system to cut greenhouse gas and exhaust pollutant emissions from ships - beat established players such as Evergreen Line and Orient Overseas Container Line to win the Environment Protection award.

'We are honoured to receive the award,' said Ecospec managing director and founder Chew Hwee Hong. 'This is a monumental achievement for a humble local green technology company that was founded a mere eight years ago.'

The gala awards night last Thursday, attended by more than 500 shipping industry players, was capped off with the Seatrade Lifetime Achievement award going to Orient Overseas (International) chairman C C Tung.

Mr Tung was chairman of The Hong Kong Shipowners' Association from 1993-1995 and chairman of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce from 1999-2001. He is currently a member of the Hong Kong Port Development Council and Hong Kong Logistics Development Council. Under his stewardship, container line OOCL has emerged as one of the world's best-run liner companies.

China's rising prominence in shipping was also seen in Cosco Group president and CEO Wei Jiafu claiming the Personality of the Year award.

The award acknowledges an industry personality who has had a high profile and has been in the news over the past 12 months. The shipping industry has followed every word of Capt Wei in recent months as it tries to steer itself out of a downturn.

He was also honoured with the Connecticut Maritime Association's prestigious Commodore Award earlier this year.

Also in the limelight was the Deal of the Year, in which Jiangsu Rongsheng Heavy Industries won the right to build a dozen 400,000dwt very large ore carriers for Brazilian mining giant Vale. The ships are the largest to be built in China and the order is China's largest yet.

'The Seatrade Asia Awards reflect shipping excellence right across Asia,' said Seatrade chairman Christopher Hayman. 'The winners as well as the finalists have demonstrated a commitment to best practices in their respective sectors that is a credit to the Asian shipping community.'

The next Seatrade Asia Awards will be held in Singapore on April 26, 2010.

S'pore, Oslo bourses ink dual-listing pact
09 July 09 The Strait Times
by Alvin Foo, Markets Correspondent

THE stock exchanges of Singapore and Oslo inked an agreement yesterday to facilitate the process of dual listings of companies on each other's bourse.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed between the Singapore Exchange (SGX) and Oslo Bors - a partnership which will enhance Singapore's reputation as an international maritime and financial centre.

This is the SGX's first pact of its kind with another exchange, and also marks the first formal cooperation between the two parties.

The dual listing framework will allow companies to diversify their shareholder base, build their profile and provide an additional avenue for raising funds.

Mrs Lim Hwee Hua, Minister in the Prime Minister's Office and Second Minister for Finance and Transport, noted that the MOU will 'boost Singapore's efforts to position itself as a leading shipping and maritime hub in Asia'.

Mrs Lim, who witnessed the signing, said: 'The MOU will enhance the attractiveness of the two exchanges as destinations for listings by shipping, offshore and energy companies, as well as those in other sectors.

'This will in turn reinforce the standing of Singapore and Norway as international maritime and financial centres.'

SGX chief executive Hsieh Fu Hua said: 'With this partnership, we can look forward to having companies list on both exchanges, capitalising on a larger investor pool across two time zones. This will also enhance our listing venues and potentially attract more listing aspirants.'

Mr Hsieh noted that both SGX and Oslo share strengths in the energy, offshore and marine sectors, with 47 of these companies listed on SGX and 89 such companies listed on Oslo, making a total of 136 companies with a combined market capitalisation of $185 billion.

'Trading interest in these stocks has remained resilient in spite of the difficult market conditions,' he added.

Oslo Bors CEO Bente Landsnes said the collaboration 'supports the fact that both Singapore and Norway have long and, to a great extent, similar traditions when it comes to shipping and energy-related industries'.

The signing was also witnessed by Norwegian ambassador Janne Julsrud and SGX chairman J.Y. Pillay.

For a start, companies seeking a dual listing should have a listing track record of three years and a market cap of at least $200 million.

Both bourses will set up a framework to enable and facilitate dual listings, including a process for settlement and clearing of shares traded of such companies.

The cooperation will begin with firms in the energy, offshore and shipping sectors - key industries common to the two exchanges.

Both will also work together on marketing and promotion, with plans to have a series of marketing seminars to profile the sectors in the two regions in the coming months.

Some 260 companies are listed on the Oslo bourse, boasting a total market cap of $265 billion.

An example of a Singapore company listed on Oslo's mainboard is EOC, one of Asia's leading operators of offshore construction and production vessels.

EOC, which listed there in 2007, is an associate company of Ezra Holdings, which is listed here.

While analysts saw the SGX's partnership as a positive step, they expect it to have no earnings impact in the near term.

JP Morgan noted: 'While (it is) positive from a strategic point of view, we foresee limited P&L (profit and loss) impact from this measure.'

However, the broker said the MOU should make it easier for companies to dual-list, with shipping, offshore and marine and petroleum-related firms as the primary targets.

S'pore gears up to be maritime education hub
15 July 09 The Business Times

OVER the past few years, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) had partnered various educational institutions to establish new diploma and degree maritime courses, along with continuing education programmes for mid-career maritime staff.

More recent and notable examples include Nanyang Technological University's Bachelor of Science in Maritime Studies and the two-year Bachelor of Engineering in Naval Architecture with Honours, run by Ngee Ann Polytechnic and Singapore Polytechnic, in collaboration with Newcastle University.

'Singapore's maritime and logistical academic fraternity, if fully coordinated, can use the component parts of the country's educational establishments to form the nucleus of Asia's own World Maritime University,' says Cambridge Academy of Transport chairman Richard Butcher. 'This would certainly be in keeping with Singapore's status as an international maritime centre.'

Ranging from post-graduate to diploma courses, maritime programmes in Singapore are offered by the three local universities and other institutions, such as the BI Norwegian School of Management, Singapore Maritime Academy, Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers, Singapore Shipping Association, Institute of Ship Management, and the Singapore College of Insurance.

There are now more than 30 such courses in Singapore - and it is a growing tally. In fact, well-regarded institutions such as CAT is talking of relocating some of its maritime-related programmes to Asia, and Singapore has everything to swing the vote in its favour.

For starters, as one of the world's leading international maritime centres, Singapore is the base for many major shipping companies, container carriers, international banks and insurance companies. For men and women with the right qualifications, there is an array of maritime career opportunities available in shipping as well as maritime business, law, finance and engineering.

A large number of shipping and related enterprises operating within Singapore's business environment, says Mr Butcher, also makes the city-state an ideal venue for a forthright exchange of views. This, in turn, shapes the country's potential as a global centre for maritime education and learning.

In addition to Singapore's standing as an international maritime centre and maritime thought capital, there are other reasons why the country is primed to be a focal point for maritime education.

'It is particularly advantageous, for the achievement of an educational hub status, that Singapore enjoys a central geographical position within Asia, a business-friendly environment, and strong government support for all aspects of the shipping industry,' says Mr Butcher.

In 2007, MPA launched the MaritimeONE initiative to provide a more coordinated approach to the promotion of maritime careers in Singapore. Activities and programmes include outreach and networking events such as school talks and visits, scholarship and internship opportunities for students, and a new maritime career website that serves as a one-stop information centre on different maritime career paths and job openings.

One present hiccup in Singapore's development as a maritime education centre is the global economic downturn, which has hit the shipping industry hard. In such a business climate, one can expect maritime enterprises to scale back recruitment and pay closer attention to training and manpower development costs.

Yet, if companies can be persuaded to adopt a long-term approach, the current downturn is an opportunity for the maritime industry to build a pool of skilled manpower in Singapore, to facilitate the expected rapid growth once the global economy picks up.

Hopefully, this means a continued demand for maritime programmes and good news for Singapore as a maritime educational hub.

This article has been edited forThe Business Times and first appeared in Singapore Nautilus,a publication by the Maritimeand Port Authority of Singapore

Port of Singapore
by enelyasol

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3553/3680642396_d7b744ac5f_b.jpg

by R.Srijith
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rsrijith/3558392262/

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3339/3558392262_606c5bff08_b.jpg

by handymann69

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3322/3605308911_cc3bd82db8_o.jpg

> http://www.ecdis09.com/

http://www.mpa.gov.sg/sites/images/pdf_capture/iec2009.jpg

http://www.mpa.gov.sg/sites/images/pdf_capture/smw2010.jpg

Steady traffic at Singapore port terminals
Monday July 20, 2009

SINGAPORE: Singapore port terminals handled 17% fewer containers in June than the same month last year but traffic was steady from May, data from the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore showed.

The numbers show trade at the world’s busiest container port has stabilised and come as the Singapore government said the export-dependent economy leapt out of recession in the second quarter.

But with little change in traffic at the port since April, and an uncertain outlook for demand in key Western export markets, analysts doubt whether a recovery can be sustained.

“The fate of Singapore’s economy is heavily dependant on foreign demand,” Standard Chartered economist Alvin Liew said.

Singapore relies on exports for about 60% of its economy.

Most containers passing through Singapore’s port are transshipments between East and West, and so are a barometer of world trade.

State-owned PSA International, which operates as a commercial company and runs ports around the world, also said container volumes at its Singapore port had fallen 17.8% in the year to June, versus the same period a year earlier. — Reuters

ST Marine units bag $12.5m of environmental contracts
23 July 09 The Business Times

ST MARINE, the marine arm of Singapore Technologies Engineering (ST Engg), has clinched two environmental contracts worth about $12.5 million in China and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The deals were awarded to STSE Engineering Services Pte Ltd and ST Environmental Services & Technologies Co Ltd, both wholly owned subsidiaries of ST Marine.

The UAE contract is for the supply of an above ground waste management system in Dubai City. Delivery will start in December this year and is expected to be completed by the first quarter of next year.

The China contract from the Daxing Municipal in Beijing is for the design and building of a materials recovery facility to manage 100,000 tonnes of waste generation.

The facility, to be built on a site of about 4,047 square metres, will be one of the larger facilities being installed in Beijing. It is expected to be delivered by the end of this year.

These contracts are not expected to have any material impact on the consolidated net tangible assets per share and earnings per share of ST Engg for the current financial year.

'We expect the needs for innovative environmental engineering solutions to grow globally and we will continue to focus on developing our capabilities to serve the needs of our customers, leveraging on the marketing networks of the ST Engineering Group,' said Chang Cheow Teck, president of ST Marine.

Sembcorp Marine posts 7.6% rise in net profit
05 August 09 The Strait Times
by Yang Huiwen

SEMBCORP Marine has exceeded market expectations by posting a 7.6 per cent hike in net profits to $138.1 million for the second quarter.

The oil rig maker made the improved profit on the back of an 8 per cent rise in revenue to $1.5 billion.

Despite the smallest profit gain in six quarters - partly due to lower contribution from Cosco Shipyard Group - its results took analysts by surprise.

Five analysts recently polled by Dow Jones predicted an average profit of $123 million.

Since the start of the year, the group has clinched $1.12 billion-worth of orders including two semi-submersible rig contracts from Norwegian client SeaDragon Offshore and two offshore platforms from Premier Oil Natuna Sea.

Its latest contract win was announced yesterday.

Subsidiary Jurong Shipyard has snagged a $160 million deal to convert an oil tanker to a floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel for Modec Offshore Production Systems.

This latest order brings Sembmarine's net order book to $7.9 billion, with deliveries extending until early 2012.

Sembmarine said it expects positive contributions from the conversion contract for Modec to feed through to its earnings for the year ending Dec 31.

It is proposing an interim dividend of 5cents per share to be paid out to shareholders on Sept 1. The dividend is unchanged from that paid out this time last year and reflects the group's 'need to conserve cash for growth opportunities'.

Mr Wong Weng Sun, the firm's newly appointed chief executive and president, said such opportunities included looking at possible acquisition in Brazil.

He added: 'Everyone is anxious to build up their order books. Going forward, we have some opportunities outside such as work for Petrobras and SeaDragon.'

Brazilian state oil company Petrobras announced in January that it had earmarked US$174.4 billion (S$250 billion) for capital outlay over the next four years, including spending on new exploration and production projects.

Earnings per share for the quarter were 6.71 cents, up 7.7 per cent on the 6.23 cents for the same period last year.

Net asset value per share rose 15.8per cent, from 64.11 cents last year to 74.21 cents as at June 30.

For the first half, profit rose 17.6 per cent from $219.6 million to $258.3 million. Revenue increased 24.3 per cent from $2.3 billion to $2.86 billion.

Ahead of the earnings announcement, Sembmarine shares closed unchanged at $3.18.

SembMarine Q2 profit rises 7.6% to $138m
05 August 09 The Business Times
by Nisha Ramchandani

SEMBCORP Marine is keeping an eye out for acquisitions in Brazil. 'We are looking for acquisition opportunities,' it said at its second-quarter results briefing yesterday.

For Q2 ended June 30, SembMarine posted a 7.6 per cent increase in year-on-year net profit to $138 million, up from $128.3 million a year back.

Turnover was 8 per cent higher at $1.5 billion, up from $1.38 billion previously, due to higher rig building activity.

Group operating profit was $166.7 million - a full 50 per cent higher than $111.5 million in Q2 2008. And operating margin was 11 per cent, up from 8 per cent.

Earnings per share came in at 6.71 cents, versus 6.23 cents a year earlier.

Contributions from associates and joint ventures were 69 per cent lower at $12 million, as Cosco Shipyard Group's contribution slid 71.4 per cent to $10.2 million. Sembcorp Marine has a 30 per cent stake in Cosco.

Revenue from ship repair dropped 11.1 per cent year-on-year to $173 million, while that from rig building jumped 19.6 per cent to $1.03 billion. Revenue from ship conversion and offshore business was also down, falling 10.3 per cent to $280.4 million.

For the first half, net profit grew 17.6 per cent to $258.3 million, as turnover surged 24.3 per cent to $2.86 billion.

SembMarine has a net order book of $7.91 billion, with completion and deliveries stretching until early 2012. This includes $1.12 billion of orders chalked up year to date.

These orders comprise building up two semi-submersible rigs from bare-deck hulls for subsidiaries of SeaDragon Offshore, two offshore platforms for Premier Oil Natuna Sea and a floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) conversion for Modec.

SembMarine's directors have recommended an interim one-tier tax-exempt dividend of five cents a share, payable on Sept 1.

Looking beyond the current downturn, the longer-term fundamentals of the marine and offshore industry remain resilient, especially with oil prices now hovering in the US$60-US$70 a barrel range, SembMarine said.

But it acknowledged that near-term prospects for ship repair are 'challenging'.

A bright spot is that its bigger docks are well booked thanks to regular customers, as well as a focus on liquefied natural gas carrier repairs, which is a niche market.

'The market for FPSO units and production platforms is expected to remain unchanged, as these projects have longer gestation periods,' SembMarine said.

Separately, it said that its wholly owned subsidiary Jurong Shipyard has landed a $160 million contract to convert a very large crude carrier into an FPSO unit for Modec Offshore Production Systems (Singapore).

The FPSO, due for delivery in Q1 2010, will service the Jubilee field off Ghana, West Africa.

SembMarine expects the conversion contract to contribute to earnings in the year ending Dec 31, 2009.

The company's shares closed unchanged at $3.18 yesterday.

Sembcorp Industries turns in higher profit
07 August 09 The Strait Times
by Lee Su Shyan, Assistant Money Editor

CONGLOMERATE Sembcorp Industries recorded a 2.7 per cent rise in second-quarter net profit to $141.9 million, supported by its two key businesses - marine and utilities.

Revenue for the period ended June30 edged down 5.8 per cent to $2.43 billion, the company said yesterday.

Profits from the utilities business - which provides utilities, energy and water - rose 11 per cent to $47.9 million, even as revenue slipped 25 per cent to $832.9 million.

Sembcorp Industries said its utilities operations in Britain, Vietnam and the United Arab Emirates performed well. Chief executive Tang Kin Fei said profits from the utilities business were now more broad-based.

The marine business - the repair and building of ships and oil rigs, part of listed Sembcorp Marine - saw profits improve 9 per cent to $85.1 million. Revenue increased 8per cent to $1.5 billion as more revenue was recognised from the completion of projects.

The environment unit, which provides waste management services and is still only a very small part of the business, notched up a 24 per cent jump in profits to $3.9 million. Revenue declined 11 per cent to $47.9 million.

The industrial parks business' profits fell 9 per cent to $7.2 million.

Looking ahead, the utilities business in Singapore is expected to deliver steady operating results, while contributions from Vietnam, the Middle East and China are expected to grow. One downside is that three British customers which contributed to nearly one-third of the British turnover have closed their facilities.

For the marine business, the long-term fundamentals for the oil rig business remain resilient. For ship repair, the 'near-term prospect is challenging', the company said.

Among the environmental businesses, the Australian operations are expected to do well.

The industrial parks are likely to be affected by the slowdown.

Mr Tang said it had been a healthy performance despite the difficult environment. 'The global economic and financial outlook appears to have improved. But we remain cautious as the market has just turned around.'

Earnings per share for the quarter were 7.97 cents, up from 7.77 cents a year earlier. Net asset value was $1.64, up from $1.46 as at Dec 31.

The company's shares closed four cents higher at $3.38 yesterday on a volume of 6.5 million shares, ahead of the results release.

Sembcorp posts 5.5% rise in H1 earnings
07 August 09 The Business Times
by Joyce Hooi

SEMBCORP Industries posted a 5.5 per cent increase in net profit to $275.5 million for its first half year.

Revenue dipped 3.3 per cent to $4.6 billion, largely attributed to a 31 per cent fall in turnover for the group's utilities operations to $1.5 billion, which was in turn caused by a drop in the high sulphur fuel oil rate.

The depreciation of the pound by 19 per cent in H1 compared to the same period a year ago also took its toll on revenue from the UK.

'In the past we were highly dependent on the UK operations, but now, our overseas contributions are more broad-based,' said Lim Joke Mui, the group's chief financial officer, yesterday.

Currently, operations in Vietnam, the Middle East and China contribute 45 per cent of the group's utilities sector's net profit from outside Singapore.

The marine business was the only sector that saw year-on-year growth for the first half, with turnover rising 24 per cent to $2.3 billion. The environment and industrial parks sectors both shed 11 per cent in turnover, to $106.9 million and $8.3 million respectively.

For the second quarter itself, net profit stood at $141.9 million, 2.7 per cent higher year on year. Revenue was 5.8 per cent lower, at $2.4 billion.

After taking into account the group's share of other comprehensive expenses from its associates and joint-venture firms as well as fair-value changes from hedging and available-for-sale assets, the group's total comprehensive income attributable to shareholders for H1 was $86.9 million.

The group's marine sector's contribution to net profit for Q2 rose 9 per cent to $85.1 million, while the utilities' contribution grew by 11 per cent to $47.9 million. Jointly, the two sectors accounted for 94 per cent of the group's net profit.

As at this month, the group's marine business had a net order book of $7.9 billion, with completions and deliveries stretching till early 2012.

The group's earnings per share stood at 15.49 cents for the first half and 7.97 cents for the second quarter, up from 14.68 cents and 7.77 cents for the corresponding periods a year ago.

Looking ahead, the group is optimistic but cautious in view of the ongoing financial turbulence.

'Sembcorp's healthy performance in this difficult global business environment reflects the underlying strength of our businesses,' said Tang Kin Fei, group president and chief executive officer of Sembcorp Industries.

'We will continue to maintain our strong positions in utilities and marine and backed by a sound balance sheet, capitalise on opportunities to position Sembcorp for the future.'

The group's counter closed four cents higher to $3.38 in trading yesterday.

S'pore port traffic in July up 6pc month-on-month
Published: 2009/08/17

SINGAPORE: Singapore port terminals handled 5.9 per cent more containers in July than in June, but traffic plunged 18.6 per cent from a year earlier, data from the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore showed.

The numbers show trade at the world's busiest container port has improved as the global economy slowly pulls out of its worst slump in decades.

Most containers passing through Singapore's port are transshipments between East and West, and so are a barometer of world trade.

The July figures come as the Singapore government narrowed down an expected contraction of 2009 non-oil exports to 10-12 per cent.

However, while July container throughput was the highest since November last year, the government and private analysts said it was too early to say if Singapore is seeing a strong, sustained trade recovery.

"For now, the global demand story remains tepid, and hence export demand weakness across both non-electronics and electronics could linger for a couple more months," said economist Selena Ling of OCBC bank.

Singapore relies on exports for about 60 per cent of its economy. State-owned PSA International, which runs ports around the world, said container volumes at its Singapore port fell 17.8 per cent in the year to July, versus the same period a year ago.

The world trade downturn has battered shipping firms such as Singapore's Neptune Orient Lines and pushed Singapore into its deepest ever economic contraction in the first quarter. - Reuters

Singapore On Track To Retain World's Top Bunkering Port Spot
October 14, 2009 18:42 PM

SINGAPORE, Oct 14 (Bernama) -- Singapore is on track to retain its position as the world's top bunkering port for 2009, China's Xinhua news agency reported quoting a Singapore official as saying on Wednesday.

Singapore's Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Transport Choi Shing Kwok said that bunker sales here for the first nine months of this year grew by 2 percent compared to the year before, to reach 27 million tonnes.

Speaking at the International Bunker Industry Association Convention, he said that Singapore is continually looking for ways to leverage technology to improve the overall efficiency of bunkering services in the Port of Singapore.

He revealed that the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore ( MPA) is also developing a community-based IT platform called BunkerNet with the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore and the bunker industry.

When launched, BunkerNet will automate processes and improve communications between various parties across the bunker supply chain.

-- BERNAMA