THE ECONOMY - Malaysia's Trading Partners

SEAPORTS - BINTULU PORT EXPANSION

KUALA LUMPUR: Bintulu Port Sdn Bhd has obtained the Ministry of Finance’s (MoF) approval for the expansion of Bintulu international container terminal.
The port operator said on Tuesday, Oct 26 it had obtained the approval vide a letter from the Ministry of Finance dated Oct 10, 2011 on the tax incentive for the approved service project.
The project is to expand the terminal in Bintulu, Sarawak. The project involves the CONSTRUCTION [] of a multi-purpose terminal and a barge berth at the palm oil terminal.
The tax incentive is in the form of an investment allowance under the Income Tax Act 1967 whereby once approved will be at a rate of 60% in respect to the qualifying capital expenditure incurred from 2008 until 2012.
"The allowance can be used to set-off against 70% of the company's annual statutory income," it said.

MARITIME - Admiralty & Maritime Law

WEDNESDAY, 12 OCTOBER 2011

Admiralty Court and Maritime Law Reform Task Force, 5 October 2011, 4 p.m., Palace of Justice

The aforementioned task force was set up by the former Chief Justice, Tun Zaki Tun Azmi prior to the launch of the Admiralty Court in late 2010. Its function was to facilitate the running of the court and advising on the legislative changes that had to be made in order for the court to function effectively as a method of resolution for the maritime industry in Malaysia.

Since its formation, the task force was led by YAA Tan Sri Dato' Seri Md Raus bin Sharif. (Note: This particular meeting was held in the beautiful offices of YAA Tan Sri Raus at the Palace of Justice, Putrajaya, although when the task force first met, it was at the Jalan Duta Courts Complex) The rest of the task force is composed of members from the judiciary, industry, government and academia.

MITRANS has a seat on this task force by virtue of its unique position of being able to provide to represent academia (by being part of a public univeristy, i.e. UiTM), industry (i.e. as the secretariat and research arm of the Malaysia Logistics Council, MLC) and government (i.e. by virtue of being a consultant for various ministries).

LOGISTICS - Courier Service

Indian firms offer next day delivery, or money back Domestic Indian courier companies such as Overnite Express and DTDC are tapping the premium express delivery services segment with money back guarantees, reported The Hindu. Simply put, if the companies do not deliver within the next business day, they would return the freight charges. Currently, such services are offered by international express delivery firms such as DHL, FedEx, TNT and UPS. For using this service, users have to pay 20-25 per cent more than the normal express delivery charges. The service has been launched in select metros to start with. The exceptions to returning the charges include delays caused due to earthquakes, strikes, amongst others. So, for instance, if there are delays in delivery due to the ongoing strike call for Telangana in Andhra Pradesh, then, the firms will not refund the charges. Overnite Express, a US$32.53 million company, yesterday launched a service which provides “assured next business day” delivery – with a “money-back guarantee”. DTDC recently launched “an assured next business day delivery service’’ with money back guarantee. O P Rajgarhia, chairman and managing director, Overnite Express, said that over the next two years, the company expects to earn revenues of $4.88 million (about seven to 10 per cent of total revenues) through this service alone. In the current fiscal, Overnite Express hopes to close with a topline of $35.58 million, he added. The company has deployed dedicated delivery boys for this service alone. “The new service is in response to the market's desire for such an assured service platform,” Rajgarhia said

SEAPORTS

ICTSI, Asian Terminals allowed to raise tariff rates Philippine-based port operator International Container Terminal Services Inc (ICTSI) said today the Philippine Ports Authority had decided to allow a two-step increase in the tariff rate for vessel-related container handling services at the Manila International Container Terminal (MICT) and South Harbour, reported Dow Jones Newswires. The ports authority will allow a two-step increase in the tariff, with a six percent rise from the 2009 level taking effect from November followed by another five percentage point increase in April. Philippine port operators are allowed to apply for tariff increases two years from the last adjustment. ICTSI operates the MICT, while Asian Terminals Inc (ATI) operates the container port in Manila's South Harbour. The two companies had been seeking an increase in the vessel-related container handling services tariff to cover rising operating costs. ICTSI had been seeking a 21 percent increase, while Asian Terminals wanted a 19 percent hike

MARITIME - Ancillary Services Vital

By SHARIDAN M. ALI Monday October 3, 2011 Mima: Important supporting structures needed to elevate industry KUALA LUMPUR: More emphasis should be given on the growth of maritime industry ancillary services to further enhance the country’s competitiveness as a maritime nation, said Maritime Institute of Malaysia (Mima) director-general Datuk Noor Aziz Yunan. He told StarBiz that maritime ancillary services formed important supporting structures for the country to elevate the industry to greater heights. “One of the important services is maritime legal service. Although we have made headway in setting up a Maritime Court, we are still lacking professionals from the legal fraternity that want to focus on this industry. “We really need to encourage more people to be involved in this area of the industry. “Not only that, we also need more services in maritime insurance and brokerage,” he said. He said this was because the shipping industry not only needed the infrastructure such as international standard terminals, but also the supporting industry to operate. “Thus, by growing our maritime ancillary services, it will entice more main shipping lines to make Malaysia their hubs,” he said. He said Mima also needed and welcomed more suitable candidates with experience and knowledge to join the institute. According to Noor Aziz, Mima, being the think-tank vested with conducting policy research on Malaysia’s maritime interests, will also strive to conduct more research and seminars to make proposals to the Government to further unlock the vast potential of the industry. “In our recent effort, Mima will conduct a seminar to promote the maritime sector as one of the National Key Economic Areas. (NKEAs). “The maritime sector for Malaysia is just not about shipping and ports, but it also provide s source of income to the country from oil and gas, tourism and fisheries,” he said, adding that the half-day seminar on promoting maritime as one of the NKEAs would be held today. Noor Aziz said Mima also focused on the other aspects of the industry such as security, navigational safety and environment. “One of the important matters that Mima is working on is on the South China Sea issue. “There are several overlapping claims including Malaysia, China, Philippines and Vietnam on certain areas in the sea that are creating tension in the important trade lane. “Not only that, navigational safety researches are also important for busy waterways and choke-point like the Straits of Malacca,” he said. Noor Aziz was appointed to helm Mima in early September. He previously served at the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency as deputy director-general (operations).

MARITIME - SLOW STEAMING

Slow steaming does not damage engines, says Maersk line Malaysia Sun Wednesday 5th October, 2011

• Maersk said Wednesday its slow steaming did not damage ships • Shipping line found that reducing speed saved 7% on fuel costs • Wants others to adopt slow steaming to prevent mandatory laws The world’s largest shipping line, AP Moller-Maersk, says it has saved around 7% in fuel costs through reducing the speeds of its ships and is encouraging other lines to follow suit. At a conference Wednesday, the Denmark-based shipping line said it had concluded a four year study and found marked fuel cost savings, with no damage inflicted on ships’ engines at slower speeds. “There were a lot of concerns about soot build-up, vibrations and propeller health. We addressed those concerns and found solutions,” said Jan de Kat, Maersk’s senior technical adviser. Maersk began instructing its fleet of around 500 ships to travel at 10 to 15 knots, instead of the standard 25 knots, back in 2007 in response to rising fuel costs. The industry leader has now made its findings public to other ship owners to reassure them that following the same strategy won’t damage their vessels. Maersk wants to see more shipping companies adopt voluntary slow-steaming in order to avoid local or international laws being introduced that would make the practise mandatory, as the line wants to retain flexibility in adhering to schedules. The entire Maersk fleet now operates on around 10% of maximum power, according to de Kat, which has resulted in fuel savings of 7% and an average speed reduction of 27%.