Hutchison Whampoa - Hong Kong's International Port Operator

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Two foreign bids for $1.4 bln Tunisia port licence

TUNIS, May 25 (Reuters) - Kuwait's Al-Mal Investment Co , and Canada's biggest engineering company SNC-Lavalin Group Inc have bid for Tunisia's $1.4 billion port licence, Tunisian state news agency TAP said on Monday.

Al-Mal, a firm controlled by family-owned conglomerate Kharafi Group, is teaming up with Hutchison Port -- the world's largest container terminal operator -- in its offer to buy the deep-water Enfida port licence, TAP added.

Tunisian officials have said they expected the winning bidder to be named later in 2009.

The seaport in Enfida is located some 130 km (80 miles) south of Tunis.

It would have a capacity of 5 million containers per year, officials say.

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Bidding for Tunisia deepwater box hub enters final straight.
1 June 2009
Lloyd's List

AN AMBITIOUS project by Tunisia to build a 5m teu deepwater box hub in the Mediterranean, against established competition in a highly competitive market, has been whittled down to the final two consortia bidders, according to local reports.

Local state news agency TAP said the bidding process for a $1.4bn licence to build a greenfield container port at Enfidha, in the north east of Tunisia, has reached the final round.

TAP suggests that Hong Kong’s Hutchison Port Holdings and Kuwait’s Al-Mal Investment Co are in one consortium, lined up against Canadian engineering company SNC-Lavalin Group for the 50-year build-own-operate concession.

Tunisian officials expect the winning bidder — some eight players were pre-selected at the original project launch — to be named later this year.

A spokesperson for HPH said: “It is company policy that we do not comment on our future port development plans.”

HPH’s potential involvement in such a project, given the company’s keen focus on return in investment, has to be seen in the light of Dubai-based DP World, which has two ongoing projects in neighbouring Algeria.

DP World appears to have stepped down from the Enfidha bidding process, although a spokesperson said: “We don’t comment on opportunities we may be or may have been exploring.”

As transhipment boxes earn lower revenue than import/export cargo — and Tunisia would not generate 5m teu of gateway traffic — the emergence of neighbouring Libya, currently without an ongoing container port development, may be an additional factor for the bidders.

An official for SNC-Lavalin stated: “We are certainly interested in this important project and are part of the bidding process, but we have nothing further to add.”

SNC-Lavalin and APM Terminals were joint bidders for the container terminal concession at Vancouver. The Canadian company could thus now end up competing with the APMT box hub investments in Tangier and the Suez Canal Container Terminal.

Al-Mal Investment Co had not responded to inquries by the time of going to press.

Industry eyebrows have been raised at the Tunisian announcement, given the current downturn in container volumes and a Mediterranean shoreline crowded with competing box ports.

Enfidha would also have to compete with nearby transhipment hubs, such as Malta Freeport, backed by French line CMA CGM, which last year handled 2.3m teu, and Gioia Tauro, operated by Contship Italia, which saw 3.4m teu pass across its quays in 2008.

However, Tunisia is positioning itself as the “Dubai of Africa” and the country’s transport ministry officials have been quoted as saying that Enfidha will target regional traffic between Europe and Africa.

The scale of the infrastructure work at Enfidha represents a significant investment and includes two breakwaters and dredging. There will be 1,500 m of container terminal quay at a depth alongside of 18 m, and a multi-purpose terminal with 1,120 m of quay.

Although the development looks hugely demanding, the Tunisian government has already instituted reforms of customs procedures to facilitate trade. The new port is part of the Enfidha logistics zone, which includes the construction of a new airport.

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Losing out Evergreen pulls Thamesport services
5 June 2009
Lloyd's List

LONDON Thamesport is losing two Evergreen container services but gaining a third from the Taiwanese shipping line as part of a growing shift of traffic to Felixstowe, the UK’s top box port, writes Roger Hailey.

A UK spokesperson for Hong Kong-based Hutchison Port Holdings, which owns both Thamesport and Felixstowe, said it was too early to assess the impact on the London hub.

Evergreen is moving its weekly CEM China-northern Europe service to Felixstowe and will stop calling with 8,000 teu vessels at Thamesport from mid-July.

A second container service, calling at the US, Asia and Europe, is being discontinued but will be replaced by a weekly China Europe Shuttle service, which begins at the end of this month with vessels of 7,000 teu.

Evergreen’s opting for Felixstowe follows Maersk Line’s decision to drop Southampton from its Asia-Europe schedules and to concentrate UK calls on Felixstowe.

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HPH opens US$11mn grain cargo facility in Baja California
9 June 2009
Business News Americas

Hong-Kong based operator Hutchison Port Holdings (HPH) inaugurated on June 5 a new 150mn-peso (US$11mn) specialized grain cargo storage facility in Mexican state Baja California's Ensenada port, paper El Economista reported.

Of the total investment, roughly half was allocated to the construction of warehousing that will hold 420,000t of Italy-bound wheat exports, according to the report.

HPH México president Jorge Lecona said the company will continue to carry out infrastructure projects in the country in spite of the global financial crisis.

However, HPH has reportedly lost interest in Baja California's 50bn-peso Punta Colonet port concession, which could be launched by year-end, according to governor José Guadalupe Osuna Millán.

HPH's local operations also include the ports of Veracruz, Lázaro Cárdenas (Michoacán state) and Manzanillo (Colima state).

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Tanzania terminal grants box amnesty
10 July 2009
Lloyd's List

DAR es Salaam’s main container terminal has announced a $14m partial waiver of storage charges, which will allow importers to remove containers that have been sitting in the port for more than four months at a sizeable discount to accrued fees, writes David Osler.

But anyone not taking advantage of the 30-day amnesty offer will see their boxes sold at auction, Hutchison affiliate Tanzania International Container Terminal Services has warned.

The concession, which runs from August 1 until the end of the month, and is valued at around $14m, is being seen as an attempt to relieve congestion at the east African hub. Containers that have stayed above 365 days are to be released on payment of $1,500 per box. Those that have stayed between 181 and 365 days will have to pay $2,000 per container and those that stayed between 120-189 days will pay $2,500.

The discounted rates are subject to value added tax and cover storage charges alone. All other port charges continue to apply.

An advertisement in the local press states: “Customers are required to complete all the necessary documentation and obtain the necessary releases to enable them to pay port charges within the deadline. Normal documentation requirements apply and importers must clear customs and obtain the necessary delivery order from their shipping agent.”

One local shipping source said: “It is believed that this is a move to make sure TICTS keeps the contract to operate the terminal, by showing this good will, so it stays in the government’s good books while the contract is being debated in parliament.”

TICTS will also benefit by having more space once the backlog is removed from its premises, and may even recover some revenue that would otherwise have to be written off as bad debt, he added.

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Buoyant IPS focuses on Dammam and Riyadh
18 June 2009
Lloyd's List

INTERNATIONAL Ports Services recorded 3% year-on-year growth in first quarter business, with exports increasing and imports remaining similar to last year.

Jason French, chief executive and general manager of IPS, part of Hutchison Port Holdings, said the company continues to focus on the import market for Dammam and Riyadh and is increasing handling equipment in anticipation of more rail freight traffic to the capital. In July, IPS receives 12 more tugs and reefer points are being expanded from 1,376 to 1,676. “We are also focusing on the growth in exports from Jubail and Dammam and aim to handle transhipment to the Upper Gulf.”

As Dammam has spare capacity of 500,000 teu, transhipment can be offered with no additional cost to the shipper. “With the main market being Saudi andthe mother vessels now all on fixed windows at Dammam, it is logical the transshipment point will be Dammam,” he added.

The newly opened Bahrain terminal is chasing the same Upper Gulf market, but he said it has not experienced any impact on its business so far. “It is unlikely any shipper will tranship via Bahrain as it is an additional cost to the shipper,” he said. “Dammam remains the only realistic gateway to the kingdom and with additional investment we see no threat.”

He added that any of the Saudi rail projects will only serve to boost Dammam’s credentials as the hub port in the Upper Gulf. “With the current rail network from Riyadh directly going into the port of Dammam, any connection north-south or east-west linking to the Riyadh-Dammam line will only increase the volume,” he said.

Discussions are continuing with IPS’ shareholders, Hutchison & Al Blagha, over phase two of the terminal’s expansion which would see six more post-panamax cranes and 15 RTGs arrive, taking Dammam’s overall capacity to 3m teu.

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HK Hutchison to buy back sterling, euro debt

HONG KONG, June 18 (Reuters) - Ports-to-telecom conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa is buying back up to 350 million pounds ($573.6 million) and 300 million euros ($418.6 million) of its bonds as Asia's most active corporate debt issuer takes advantage of easing credit conditions to cut debt.

In the latest buyback announcement the company said it was inviting investors holding bonds due in 2026, 2017 and 2016 to tender their debt for cash.

The outstanding amounts for the three issues are 400 million pounds, 300 million pounds and 1 billion euros.

It would pay 840 pounds and 953 pounds respectively for every 1,000 pounds of primcipal held in the 2026 and 2017 bonds, while it would pay 955 euros for every 1,000 euros outstanding in the 2016 bonds. Calyon Corporate & Investment Bank is the deal manager and the offer is open until June 26.

Earlier, the company made an offer to buy back up to $3 billion in dollar bonds of various maturities.

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International Port-Building Projects Ramp Up in Vietnam
2 July 2009

HANOI (Nikkei)--Port development is under way in Vietnam, carrying hopes not only that it will enhance the nation's distribution capabilities, but also help stimulate the other Mekong River economies as well.

At the mouth of the Cai Mep/Thi Vai river complex in southern Vietnam, an international project is moving rapidly to build container terminals and expand port facilities. "Megaterminal operators are coming together from all over the world," said a source at the Japan International Cooperation Agency. The new east Asian trading hub they are working to create will begin partial operation around 2011.

The riverside development area consists of two districts. In the Cai Mep district, a joint venture involving A.P. Moeller-Maersk A/S of Denmark, SAS Marine of the U.S. and Gemadept Corp. of Vietnam is building a container terminal. In the Thi Vai district, Posco of South Korea, PSA International Pte Ltd. of Singapore, Hutchison Port Holdings Ltd. of Hong Kong and other companies are building another.

Both are big projects requiring wetland reclamation and dredging from seven meters down to 14 to create a deepwater port for the largest ships. SSA will develop about 60 hectares to build a 600-meter pier that can dock two large ships side-by-side. The firm stresses that the new terminal will be large enough to satisfy the area's rising demand for shipping.

Vietnam's main port facilities are near the southern commercial center of Ho Chi Minh City. Cargo traffic is reaching its physical limits there because urban development around the port makes expansion impractical. So the government decided to create new port facilities at Cai Mep/Thi Vai, just two hours by road from Ho Chi Minh City. Sticking out into the South China Sea, the southern tip of Vietnam "has the advantage of close proximity to shipping routes connecting Asia with North America and Europe," said a source at Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd. (9107).

Road and bridge construction will soon begin to connect the new port to National Highway 51, the main artery for container transportation. The new infrastructure will connect southern Vietnam's ports by road to Cambodia and Thailand, with enormous potential to develop a distribution center for all of Indochina.

In northern Vietnam, another large project has just begun under the Ministry of Transportation to build the Haiphong International Gateway Port on projected investment of about 1.1 billion dollars.

Haiphong, Northern Vietnam's primary port, is too shallow for larger ships and unable to fulfill growing demand for cargo transactions in the region. To address this, the ministry will build an artificial island and container terminal accessible for large ships by the end of 2014. Itochu Corp. (8001) "has already expressed interest in participating in the operation of the new terminal," said Vietnam manager Hiroaki Yashiro. The island will also support an industrial park, a shipyard and a petrochemical complex.

The primary advantage of this port is proximity to the world's manufacturing plant, China. There is a plan to build a highway from the border town of Lao Cai to Hanoi. It is likely that the artificial island off Haiphong harbor will become a consolidation center for cargoes from western China.

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JICT Inaugurates the Second Stage of its Expansion Programme
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
HPH Press Release




Comprising new facilities and equipment to increase its capacity to 2.5 million TEUs per annum and further enhance its productivity to meet the demands of the bigger vessels now calling at Indonesia’s gateway Tanjung Priok Port.

[Jakarta, Indonesia - May 27, 2009] PT Jakarta International Container Terminal (JICT) inaugurated today the second stage of its Expansion Programme. The inauguration ceremony was held on the terminal’s new container yard. It was attended by the Indonesian Trade Minister Mari Elka Pangestu, Hutchison Port Holdings (HPH) Group Managing Director John Meredith, and PT. (Persero) Pelabuhan Indonesia II (Pelindo II) President Director Richard J. Lino.

JICT has taken delivery of four new super-post-Panamax quay cranes, two of which were fabricated in Indonesia, six new “1 over 6” rubber-tyred gantry cranes, a first of this type in Indonesia, and 26 new terminal tractors this year. JICT has also completed new infrastructure, including expanding its container yard and commissioning a new technologically advanced control tower, which will soon be endowed with HPH’s proprietary Next Generation Terminal Management System (nGen).

The investments that JICT have made this year have increased it’s handling capacity to 2.5 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) compared with 1.5 million TEUs 10 years ago. Further investment in the future will increase JICT's capacity to over 3 million TEUs.

JICT President Director Derek Pierson commented, “Productivity has risen from an average of 18 crane moves per hour 10 years ago to almost 29 crane moves per hour today on the North Berth, an improvement of some 60%. In addition following the delivery of the four new super-post-Panamax quay cranes earlier this year JICT is now able to achieve an overall Vessel Operating Rate of 90 moves per hour when these cranes are deployed on the biggest vessels calling at JICT today.”

The Minister of Trade Mrs Mari Elka Pangestu said, in her inauguration speach, “As the biggest archipelago in the world, sea transportation is a vital sector in Indonesia’s international trade and transportation. Therefore, in the future, Indonesia must have international standard ports, to ensure Indonesia’s export competitiveness, through the continuous improvement of infrastructure, human resource quality and technology, as well as customer services.” The Minister stressed the importance of the Tanjung Priok port to Indonesia and went on to thank JICT for its efforts in improving capacity and technology.

Newly appointed President Director of Pelindo II Richard Lino said, “I will be working tirelessly to support JICT in its efforts to expand capacity and improve services and productivity in order to reduce overall costs to all JICT’s customers.” He went on to say, “I look forward to the completion of the Jakarta Outer Ring Road, currently under construction by the Government of Indonesia, as this would greatly enhance access to JICT and all other container and conventional terminals in Tanjung Priok.”

In his address HPH Group Managing Director John Meredith said, “Tanjung Priok now has the Water Depth, Crane Size, Supporting Equipment and Systems together with the productivity that the Lines demand. This will reduce Indonesia’s heavy reliance upon expensive offshore transhipment and offer a more cost effective and efficient service to its domestic and international customers alike. This is good news for the Indonesian economy.”

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AFTER 45 years, one of Felixstowe's best-known landmarks has closed its ...
10 June 2009
Evening Star (Ipswich)

AFTER 45 years, one of Felixstowe's best-known landmarks has closed its operations.

The huge Calor Gas Terminal opened in 1964 and at the time it was the largest refrigeration tank in the UK.

Now the 108 ft tall white cylinder - which can hold 30,000 tonnes of liquid petroleum gas and is designed with super-thick walls so an explosion would go upwards rather than outwards - has been decommissioned and shut.

In due course, the terminal, which stands on an eight-acre site off Dock Road, will be demolished, freeing another site for new business inside the port complex.

Expansion of the port currently taking place has meant Calor, a tenant of Hutchison Ports, has lost its LPG pipeline and jetty.

The centre imported around 50,000 tonnes of LPG a year, which was stored in the enormous refrigerated LPG tank and collected by lorry. It employed about six people at the site.

Port historian Ian Heeley said: “We understand the tank has been filled with nitrogen and foam pads to absorb the gas. Eventually, once the gas has settled, it will be emptied and the material recycled, and then be ready for demolition.

“It's sad to see the tank go in some ways because it has been a feature of the town for so long and can be seen right across the town.

“The port though is a changing environment, like any industrial complex, and will carry on changing.”

Mr Heeley is part of a project to record the current changes caused by the expansion and which has so far taken 21,500 photos of the demolition of buildings and work on the redevelopment.

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Hutchison Whampoa Closes Offer To Buy Back Bonds At Discount
29 June 2009

HONG KONG (Dow Jones)--Hong Kong port-to-telecom conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. (0013.HK) said Monday it received GBP274.95 million in applications from bondholders for its plan to buy back up to GBP350 million worth of sterling-denominated notes.

The Hong Kong company, which owns U.K. mobile phone operator 3, also said in a statement it received EUR276.25 million in applications from bondholders for its plan to buy back up to EUR300 million worth of euro-denominated bonds.

Hutchison is offering to buy back some of its outstanding bonds at a discount of 84%-95.5% to face value.

The offer closed Friday, it said.

Hutchison Whampoa is the latest company to take advantage of relatively low prices in the secondary bond market by buying back its debt at a discount to face value.

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Dublin port builds up solid base
10 July 2009
Lloyd's List

THE port of Dublin is well-placed to ride out the current economic crisis, its chief executive confidently believes.

More importantly perhaps, Enda Connellan sees the port staying exactly where it is for the next 10 years — dismissing talk of any relocation outside the Irish capital. “No senior civil servant or politician has mentioned to me moving Dublin,” Mr Connellan says, adding: “But if it is decided by our lords and masters to move Dublin, I won’t stand in the way.”

The debate over the future of Dublin has rumbled on for decades and is currently the subject of a report for the government by Irish consultants, Indecon. It is due to be submitted shortly, but Mr Connellan, who heads the Dublin Port Co, says he does not expect it to contain any surprises. A parallel but broader study into Dublin Bay is also considering the future of both Dublin and Dun Laoghaire ports.

The debate, however, has recently been re-energised by the proposal from a joint venture between the port of Drogheda and property developers Treasury Holdings to build a new €300m ($417m) port at Bremore, north of Dublin. The deepwater port — catering for container, ro-ro, bulk and passenger traffic — would have an annual throughput of 50m tonnes a year, more than Dublin’s current 30m tonnes. Hutchison Westports, the European arm of the Hong Kong port group, has been hired to develop and operate a “terminal master plan” and hydrographic surveys have been undertaken, with 2013 the target date for opening.

Mr Connellan, however, dismisses Bremore as a “property play” or a “property distraction”. He points out that Dublin has invested €250m over the last 10 years, while the government spent €1bn on building the tunnel taking Dublin port traffic under the city’s congested roads to the M1 motorway — evidence of a long-term commitment to the port’s future in the Irish capital.

More immediate concerns for the port executive include the collapse in trade that has seen tonnage in the first half of this year fall by 16%. That followed a full-year 4% decline in 2008 and Mr Connellan forecasts revenue this year will be down by €8m on the 2007 total of €70.5m.

Greenore, the port Dublin jointly owns with One51, the Irish private investment group, suffered a 35% fall in throughput last year — the steeper decline being attributed to its focus on bulk cargoes. A planning application has been made to expand the northeast port with a container terminal and ro-ro berth, but Mr Connellan says “the impetus for getting things done has waned”.

Despite the falls in throughput and revenue, the state-owned but self-financing and privately-managed port is still expected to make a profit and pay a dividend to the Irish state (it paid €4.32m last year.)

“Over the good years we had some strong rationalisation, so we are in a strong position,” the DPC head points out. The wage bill has been slashed from an “unsustainable” €21m in 2002 to the current €13m, enabling unitised terminal users’ costs to be nominally lower than they were in 1988.

With a further 20% reduction in costs across a range of port activities over the last 12 months, the port boss says: “ We are pretty well-positioned to weather the storm and we are keeping a constant watch on costs.”

He is also confident — “I am no doom-and-gloom merchant” — that the Irish economy can recover and is scornful of “uninformed comment” that the country is a tax haven and as such will suffer from the crisis-induced backlash against corporate offshoring.

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Big Port Call
27 June 2009
Saigon Times Weekly

Development of big seaports will boost the competitiveness of Vietnam’s shipping industry and businesses as well

Vietnam has a long coastline of 3,260km which is home to more than 110 seaports, both big and small. However, the country still lacks big deepwater ports capable of receiving big vessels of 50,000DWT or more, which currently have to transit cargo to and from Vietnam at regional ports. The lack of deepwater ports and poor logistics services are affecting the development of the shipping industry and increasing the transport cost for import and export goods. Industry experts estimate that the transshipment of export cargo via ports in Hong Kong and Singapore cost local businesses more than US$1.7 billion a year.

Strong growth

Vietnam’s shipping industry has experienced strong growth in recent years. Over the past two years, the annual throughput at Vietnam’s seaports has exceeded 140 million tons. Transport experts forecast that some 200 million tons of goods will go through Vietnam’s seaports annually by 2010, and the figure will rise to 340 million tons per year in the subsequent 10 years. That means the country will have to secure big funds for port development so as to double its handling capacity by 2010 and to quadruple it by 2020.

Despite the strong growth, investment in Vietnam’s port system has been dispersed, resulting in low efficiency, overburdening, and a lack of ports capable of handling big vessels. To improve the situation, Vietnam Maritime Administration has proposed that investment should be focused on large-scale seaports and port complexes to improve efficiency and prevent rampant development. The administration is preparing a revised master plan specifying that only projects to build ports able to handle vessels of more than 50,000DWT should be allowed. Detailed zoning plans and investment policies are being drafted in line with this orientation. In the future, priority will be given to development of key seaport projects. These include Cai Lan, Dinh Vu and Lach Huyen ports in the north, Nghi Son, Vung Ang, Chan May, Danang, Dung Quat, Quy Nhon and Van Phong ports in the central region, and Ben Dinh-Sao Mai, Thi Vai-Cai Mep, Hiep Phuoc, Cat Lai and Can Tho ports in the south.

To carry out the development plan in the next four years, Vietnam needs about US$4 billion. Transport experts said that one quarter of the total fund should come from official development assistance, while another quarter will come from the State coffer, and the remainder from the private sector.

Investment

Over the years, domestic importers and exporters have been unable to compete with those in Southeast Asia and China, Hong Kong and Japan because they have to shoulder transshipment charges for using ports in Singapore, Hong Kong, Pusan and Thailand. Therefore, investment in the development of big deepwater ports is a correct policy for Vietnam’s shipping industry, as it can help improve the industry’s competitiveness as well as reduce the cost for both importers and exporters.

Since 2007, many local and foreign developers have poured money into large-scale seaports, such as a deepwater seaport in Tan Thanh District of Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province developed by Saigon International Terminals Vietnam Ltd., a joint venture between Saigon Trade, Investment and Construction and Hong Kong’s Hutchison Ports Group. Other big names include one international seaport being developed by Saigon Port and Denmark’s A.P. Moller-Maersk Group, another port as a joint venture between Vinalines and SSA Marine (U.S.), and Cai Mep-Thi Vai port complex financed by Japan’s ODA funds. All these big port projects are in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau.

On June 3, Tan Cang-Cai Mep deepwater seaport in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau received the first and biggest container vessel ever to call at a Vietnam port. The 73,000-DWT vessel MOL Premium of Mitsui O.S.K. Lines is 294 meters long and has a loading capacity of 6,350TEUs. The event marks a milestone in Vietnam’s shipping industry, as part of its seaport system can now receive big vessels of over 50,000DWT.

Tan Cang-Cai Mep Port is operated by Tan Cang-Cai Mep Container Terminal Joint Stock Company, a unit of the military-owned Saigon Newport. It is designed to have 60 hectares of container yard and a total berth length of 900 meters to accommodate vessels of up to 80,000DWT. The designed capacity in phase one is 650,000TEUs a year. Saigon Newport is working on the second phase with 600 meters of berth and 40 hectares of container yard. The company has established a joint venture with Hanjin Shipping, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines and Wanhai Lines to manage and operate the second phase scheduled to be up and running by end-2010.

Also late last month, another big vessel, the 60,000-DWT Singapore-flagged APL Alexandrite, berthed at the SP-PSA International Port in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province. The SP-PSA International Port, whose first phase is completed after one year and a half of construction with total investment of US$210 million, is a joint venture between the State-owned Vietnam National Shipping Lines (Vinalines), Saigon Port (SP) and the Port of Singapore Authority (PSA). The port, which can handle vessels of up to 80,000DWT and 1.1 million twenty-foot-equivalent units (TEUs) per year, is expected to help meet Vietnam’s rapidly growing container traffic demand and become a major shipping hub for the Asia-Pacific region. Upon completion of the second phase, it will have total annual handling capacity to 2.2 million TEUs, or some 25 million tons of goods.

Tan Cang-Cai Mep and SP-PSA ports are part of the seaport development master plan known as Port Group 5 prepared by the Transport Ministry, which includes seaports in HCM City, Dong Nai and Ba Ria-Vung Tau provinces. Deputy transport minister Tran Doan Tho said the ministry was making effort to accelerate the development of seaports in Ba Ria-Vung Tau to make the area the center of Vietnam’s and the world’s shipping routes.

Soon after the Tan Cang-Cai Mep and SP-SPA ports were operational, some international shippers like MOL and APL began to think of choosing Vietnam as a new transshipment hub for their trans-Pacific routes, as the country has a central position in Southeast Asia and the cost is lower than transshipment at other regional hubs such as Singapore and Hong Kong. Ship owners estimate that shipping a container from Cambodia to the U.S. via Vietnam can reduce the travel time by one week and save US$200-300 as compared with transshipment in Singapore or Hong Kong.

Meanwhile, in HCM City, construction of Saigon-Hiep Phuoc Port by the Soai Rap River in Nha Be District started in mid-May as part of a plan to relocate ports in inner HCM City to the suburb. Upon completion of the first phase in 2011, the port will be able to handle 8.7 million tons of cargo a year. After the second phase is completed in 2014, it will be able to handle 18 million tons of cargo per year and receive ships of up to 50,000DWT. The project, a US$245-million venture between P&O Ports-Dubai World and Tan Thuan Industrial Promotion Company, is seen as the biggest container terminal in HCM City.

Construction of Saigon-Hiep Phuoc Port is the first step of the Government’s plan to move key ports in the inner city to outlying areas to help them meet international standards and raise competitiveness. The port will facilitate export-import operations and the development of the port complex in southern HCM City.

In a move to speed up the development of Vietnam’s first international transshipment port in Van Phong Bay, Khanh Hoa Province, the Government has allowed the project owner to assign contractors for a number of works. With the advantage of being 22 meters deep and located near major international shipping routes, Van Phong Bay has the most favorable position to become a big international transshipment port in the region. According to maritime experts, if properly developed, the port in Van Phong may receive super big container vessels that have transport capacity of 9,000-12,000TEUs.

The Government also allowed the assignment of contractors for the Lach Huyen Port in Haiphong, which is designed as an international gateway and transit port for the northern region. After completion, the port will be able to accommodate container vessels of 60,000-80,000 DWT.x

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Group Throughput
Source : http://www.hph.com/about/throughput.aspx



Years Grand Total (millions of TEU) Growth over previous years
2008 67.6 2.0%
2007 66.3 12.0%
2006 59.3 15.0%
2005 51.8 8.0%
2004 47.8 15.0%
2003 41.5 16.0%
2002 35.8 32.0%
2001 27.0 6.0%
2000 25.3 40.0%
1999 17.9 27.0%
1998 14.1 7.5%
1997 13.1 16.3%
1996 11.3 10.2%
1995 10.2 21.5%
1994 8.4 49.1%

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Govt to launch new tender for Manta port concession
23 July 2009
Business News Americas

Ecuador's government will continue plans to develop a deepwater port in Manta, in spite of problems with previous concessionaire TIDE, controlled by Hong Kong-based Hutchison Port Holdings (HPH), President Rafael Correa said.

Authorities will transfer the concession to a new company which will mean calling a new international tender, the presidential website reported.

Since the port has been managed by Manta port authority (APM) revenues have improved considerably, according to Correa.

Meanwhile, APM will start works to increase draft at the port from 18m to 20m.

FAILED CONCESSION

In February this year TIDE announced it was leaving the port and withdrawing from the concession.

The firm accused APM of trying to modify the document unilaterally.

HPH was the only company to submit an offer for the port's concession in January 2006.

The company offered to invest US$523mn during the 30-year concession to build a deepwater port capable of handling 2.2mn containers a year.

According to reports, authorities wanted TIDE to invest an additional US$55mn in the construction of a fishing port located next to Manta's cargo terminal.

However, APM said it did everything in its power to reach agreements with TIDE on adjustments to the concession contract so that the project could be carried out, but the concessionaire decided to abandon the project in spite of these efforts.

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FORMER Felixstowe port boss Chris Gray has retired for a second time - leaving...
22 July 2009
Evening Star

FORMER Felixstowe port boss Chris Gray has retired for a second time - leaving his post in the Bahamas.

Mr Gray retired as chief executive of Felixstowe port in early 2002, but within a few months Hutchison Whampoa had tempted him back into the world of work with the job of running Freeport Container Port, 65 miles from Florida.

Now after seven years of building up business in the Caribbean, he has handed over the reigns to Gary Gilbert, who is also a senior vice-president of Hutchison Port Holdings.

Mr Gray's brief on setting out from Felixstowe - where he was boss for three years and previously Contship Containerlines for 21 years - was to increase business at Freeport.

He has helped turn it into a major transhipment hub handling around 1.7 million standard-sized boxes a year with further development lined up to boost capacity by 30 per cent.

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APM resumes control of Manta port
27 July 2009
Business News Americas

The government of Ecuador has come to an agreement with Hong-Kong based Hutchison Port Holdings (HPH) to resume the administration of Manta port in Manabí province, local press reported.

HPH will hand over its shares in Terminales Internacionales de Ecuador (TIDE), which managed the concession, to the Manta port authority (APM).

The agreement consists of transferring the total share capital of TIDE, valued at around US$5mn, to APM as well as all other assets the company has at the port. HPH will also return tax breaks worth over US$1mn to the government. APM will also be allowed to use the installed software for port operations until June 2010.

At the same time, HPH will deposit an additional US$2mn in TIDE's account and renounces all rights over the US$18mn that was invested in the port.

APM will be in charge of the share transfer which is expected to be completed in August.

President Rafael Correa said last week that authorities plan to call a new international tender to transfer the concession to a new company.

IMPROVEMENTS

Meanwhile, APM has designed a plan to improve the port's infrastructure, such as dredging the access canal to a 12.5m draft and reinforcing the Muelle 2 docking area.

The project also consists of building a new 400m dock and a 7ha container handling area which can be expanded to 18ha. This will be carried out over a three-year period and will provide Manta port with a draft of 18-20m, reports said.

FAILED CONCESSION

In February this year TIDE announced it was leaving the port and withdrawing from the concession.

The firm accused APM of trying to modify the document unilaterally.

HPH was the only company to submit an offer for the port's concession in January 2006. The company offered to invest US$523mn during the 30-year concession to build a deepwater port capable of handling 2.2mn containers a year.

According to reports, authorities wanted TIDE to invest an additional US$55mn in the construction of a fishing port located next to Manta's cargo terminal.

However, APM said it did everything in its power to reach agreements with TIDE on adjustments to the concession contract so that the project could be carried out, but the concessionaire decided to abandon the project in spite of these efforts.

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Hutchison Whampoa H1 net profit down 33 pct

HONG KONG, Aug 13 (Reuters) - Ports-to-telecoms conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa said on Thursday that its first-half net profit fell 33 percent on narrower one-off gains, a steep drop in container throughput and continued losses in its European 3G mobile phone business.

Net profit for January-June was HK$5.76 billion ($738 million), it said, down from a restated HK$8.59 billion a year earlier.

Losses from the company's 3G business narrowed 66 percent to HK$1.81 billion.

The profit beat a consensus forecast for a profit of HK$3.59 billion by six analysts polled by Reuters.

Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing's flagship, one of the top industrial conglomerates in Asia-Pacific by market capitalisation, also holds stakes in property, energy and retail businesses.

The widely diversified group had been kept afloat in recent years by one-off gains, which especially spared it from the worst impact of the global economic downturn.

Shares in Hutchison Whampoa, which also holds stakes in property, energy and retail businesses, rose more than 30 percent in the first half, outperforming the benchmark Hang Seng index. On Thursday the stock rose a further 2.55 percent.

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Hutchison upbeat despite decline
14 August 2009
Lloyd's List

THE global recession has started to ease but a global recovery is not yet a certainty, according to Hong Kong ports giant Hutchison Whampoa chairman Li Ka-shing.

The conglomerate’s ports division, Hutchison Port Holdings, yesterday revealed just how badly it had been hit by the downturn in the global economy after announcing a 35% drop in net profits.

According to the first-half results, the division handled 30.3m teu, representing an 8% decline on the same period in 2008. Net profits were down to HK$4.4bn ($567.7m) compared with HK$6.8bn in the first half of 2008, while total revenues fell 21% to HK$15.6bn.

The company said that the stark reduction in global trade volumes that beset the fourth quarter last year and first quarter of 2009 had now begun to bottom out, “albeit at lower levels, well below 2008”.

Hutchison’s port management implemented cost-cutting measures during the first half in a vain attempt to achieve a net reduction similar to that of revenues.

“The full effect of many of these [measures] is expected to be realised in the second half of the year,” the company said in a statement.

“Although trade volumes are normally seasonally higher in the second half of the year, the group’s current expectation is that trading activity will recover slowly, presenting a continuing challenge to the division’s full-year earnings prospects.”

Mr Li said the global recession had begun to ease and he was encouraged by rebounding commodity and assets prices.

“With the strong backing of the various national governments, the economic contraction in the US and European countries is less severe than expected,” he said in a statement.

He added that the mainland Chinese economy was probably set for steady improvement, helped by Beijing’s stimulus policies, but cautioned that a global recovery was not yet a certainty.

The main contributors to the decline in the division’s overall throughput were its port operations in Hong Kong and the mainland, where throughput fell 11% over the period.

More severely hit were the ports in Asia where throughput fell 15%.

The fall in box volumes at Hong Kong was exacerbated by the resumption of cross-strait ties between Taiwan and the mainland that were instigated at the start of the year. As a result, significant box volumes that might have gone through Hong Kong went direct to Taiwan instead.

According to the latest figures available, Taiwan’s port of Kaoshiung received 165,000 teu direct from the mainland in the first three months of the year.

Net income fell 24% at Hong Kong and mainland ports, and a massive 40% at its ports in Europe, which include the UK, Germany, Belgium and Italy.

Hutchison Whampoa, which also has retail and property revenue streams, said its overall revenue declined 20% to HK$141bn.

Net income fell 44% to HK$19.8bn.

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Yantian opens inland box site
19 August 2009
Lloyd's List

YANTIAN International Container Terminals, part of Hutchison Port Holdings, has opened its first inland container depot in Dongguan, southern China, writes Keith Wallis.

The facility will complement a similar inland depot operated by a Hutchison offshoot at Baoan in Shenzhen.

The Dongguan depot, which covers 3.1 ha and has a storage and repair capability for 8,000 teu, will allow shippers to pick up empty containers and drop off import containers that have been unpacked.

This will save shippers the 150 km round trip between Dongguan and Yantian.