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China Eastern looks to US$2.2 billion share sale to buy new planes
来源： 编辑：编辑部 发布：2018/07/13 08:57:51
THE Port of Felixstowe, the UK's big container port owned by Hong Kong’s Hutchison Port Holdings, continues to be frustrated by its new nGen terminal operating system as productivity slows to 80 per cent of what it was before. "We recognise that performance is not good enough. Vessel and rail loading performance remain below the targets. We are working to reduce rail misses," an unidentified port official told American Shipper. Quayside volumes last week totalled 66,000 TEU. Nearly 5,000 containers were loaded to rail and more than 21,000 truck haulers were serviced, the port said, adding that the average hauler turnaround time stabilized at 46 minutes, said the report. Said Felixstowe Port Users Association chairman Jason Flowers: "If there is a plus point to this, I do believe that once the errors have been fixed, the system should improve throughput." Meanwhile, a new area of empty storage will be opened at the port behind berths 8 and 9. The new yard will provide capacity for an additional 4,200 TEU of empty storage and will facilitate faster loading of empties to outbound vessels, the Port Said. Felixstowe is served by 26 cellular container services connecting it to regions outside Britain, 21 of which sail to regions outside North Europe, according to BlueWater Reporting. |
OCEAN carriers moved 14.4 million TEU in May worldwide, a 1.3 per cent year-on-year increase, according to a Container Trade Statistics (CTS) report. This reflected strong growth in imports and exports to and from Europe and exports from North America, which was offset by a decline in Asian volumes, said CTS, based in London area Woking. April to May, global volumes increased 4.3 per cent. Exports from Europe rose 3.1 per cent to 2.5 million TEU, while imports were up 2.6 per cent to 2.8 million TEU. But Far East exports fell one per cent to 8.4 million TEU in May, while imports slipped 0.2 per cent to 5.7 million TEU year on year. North American exports rose one per cent to 1.4 million TEU, but imports were unchanged at 2.4 million TEU. Year-to-date in the first five months of 2018, volumes increased four per cent to 68.6 million TEU year on year. |
THE Hong Kong Marine Department, for the next year, will be doing reclamation work southwest of Shek Kwu Chau for to enhance integrated waste management facilities. Vessels navigating in the vicinity should proceed with caution. Vessels engaged in the operations will display signals as prescribed in international and local regulations. The work involves marine ground investigation, laying of geotextiles and sand blankets. Deep cement mixing will also be carried out within the area bounded by straight lines joining the following co-ordinates (WGS 84 Datum) from (A) to (I) and the adjacent shoreline. Yellow marker buoys fitted with yellow flashing lights will be laid at co-ordinates from (B) to (H) to mark the boundary of the works area. The works will be carried out by a flotilla of vessels including flat top barges, jack-up barges, derrick lighters, and deep cement mixing barges at various stages. Some tugboats, guard boats and self-propelled delivery barges will provide assistance. The number and type of vessels engaged in the works will change from time to time to suit operational requirements. A working area of 50 metres around each barge and lighter will be established. Yellow marker buoys fitted with yellow flashing lights will be laid to mark the positions of the anchors extending from the barges and lighters. Silt curtains, extending from the sea surface to the seabed, will be established within the works area. The silt curtain is a large piece of netting used to contain mud and sediments. Yellow markers fitted with yellow flashing lights will be laid to mark the extent of the silt curtains. The water depth at the areas where sand blankets are laid will be reduced by two metres. Yellow marker buoys fitted with yellow fixed lights will be laid to mark the boundaries of such areas. The hours of work will be from 0700 to 2300 hours including Sundays and public holidays. Vessels employed for the works will stay in the works area outside the hours of work. |
US TRUCK driver turnover is up 20 per cent year on year at fleets with more than US$30 million annual revenue, according to the American Trucking Associations (ATA). At smaller truckload carriers, the turnover rate hit 73 per cent, up seven per cent points from the first quarter of 2017, while at less-than-truckload carriers' turnover remained unchanged at 10 per cent year on year, reports American Shipper. Most recruiters surveyed expected that salaries would continue to increase, with 72 per cent forecasting total compensation - pay and benefits - would rise in the second quarter of this year. More than 80 per cent of the recruiters believed the average salary needed to be $75,000 to impact driver turnover - or 41 per cent higher than the $53,000 reported by ATA in 2016. Lowering the interstate truck driving age from 21 to 18 could ease the shortage. Most states allow 18-year-olds to have commercial truck driving . "America trains 18-year-olds to fight our wars. There's no reason we can't train them to cross state lines," said ATA president and CEO Chris Spear. |
THE United States' deficit in goods and services trade narrowed for the third consecutive month in May, dropping to its lowest level since October 2016. The deficit in goods and services trade shrank by 6.6 per cent to US$43.1 billion in May as strong exports offset an increase in imports, according to figures compiled by the US Department of Commerce's Bureau of Economic Analysis. The May figures followed revised declines of 18.2 per cent in March and 2.4 per cent in April that were preceded by six months in a row of growth, reported American Shipper. US exports rose by 1.9 per cent in May to total $215.3 billion and imports were up 0.4 per cent to $258.4 billion. The three-month moving average of the goods and services deficit fell 8.5 per cent to $45.4 billion for the three months ending in May, with average exports rising 1.5 per cent to $212.4 billion and average imports down 0.4 per cent to $257.9 billion, according to BEA. On a year-on-year basis, however, the three-month average goods and services deficit is still up 0.4 per cent compared to the same period in 2017 since exports and imports have increased $19.9 billion (10.3 per cent) and $20.1 billion (8.5 per cent), respectively. BEA said the US deficit with China rose by 3.9 per cent to $32 billion in May compared with the previous month. US deficits with the EU and Mexico fell 10.2 per cent to $11.9 billion and 3.4 per cent to $5.8 billion respectively, while the US-Canada deficit surged 24 per cent to $2.2 billion. |
TAIWAN's T.S. Lines with a US$55 million net profit in 2017, celebrated its 17th anniversary on July 6 with the acquisition of its own newbuilds. T.S. Lines chairman T.S. Chen said the company has been expanding its self-owned fleet in the past two years to six ships. With two orders placed at Japan's Kyokuyo Shipyard, T.S. Lines currently has six newbuilds to be delivered while expecting to own 18 to 20 vessels in five years. Among the six self-owned ships, four of them are 1,800-TEU Bangkokmaxes built by CSBC Corporation, Taiwan (CSBC). Following the delivery of the last ship at the beginning of this year, T.S. Lines ordered two 1,000-TEUers at Kyokuyo Shipyard, two 1,800-TEU Bangkokmaxes at CSBC, and two 1,096-TEUers at Kyokuyo Shipyard, a total of six newbuilds. The six ships are expected to be delivered between second half of 2019 and the middle of 2020. When the company was first established, T.S. Lines operated chartered vessels. It started to purchase ships when the operation became stable. T.S. Lines currently operates 36 ships, becoming the world's 20th biggest shipping liner at the beginning of this year. But with vessel sharing agreements with other companies, capacity varies from month to month. Therefore, T.S. Lines is now ranked 22nd. Mr Chen said compared to improving capacity, increasing profit is more important. In 2017, the container shipping market has shown signs of recovery. Most of the shipping liners reported good financial results. T.S. Lines' revenue and profit of 2017 reached NT$24 billion (US$791 million) and NT$1.65 billion respectively, the highest in the company's history. But the company is facing the challenge of soaring rental price this year, due to the shortage of chartered vessels in the market. T.S. Lines responds to this challenge by building up its self-owned fleet in the past two years when the ship prices were low. For example, a 1,800-TEU Bangkokmax was going for $7,500-8,500 per day at the beginning of 2017, but is now $13,500-14,000 a day. Mr Chen anticipates that at the fourth quarter of this year when large container ships are delivered, those large container ships servicing the Europe-America trade will be deployed to intra-Asia trade lanes. This is when the rental price starts to fall. On the other hand, high bunker prices will increase operational costs. Despite the severe environment, T.S. Lines profit in the first half of this year is estimated to be $18 million. Recently, the shipping companies respond to the high cost of fuel by levying emergency bunker surcharges or raising freight rates. With the peak season in second half of the year approaching, the company expects 2018 profit to reach $40 million. "In the future, T.S. Lines will continue to establish close partnerships with ocean carriers from all over the world. Through these cooperations, we can improve the capacity of all services and expand our network," Mr Chen said. |
CEVA Logistics has announced the proposed refinancing of the majority of its existing debt facilities in a bid to achieve lower interest rates, longer maturities and enhanced liquidity to pursue its strategy. The third party logistics company proposes to offer US$400 million in aggregate principal amount of secured term loan B due 2025 (the "new loan") in a private offering. It also plans to enter into a new $600 million senior revolving credit and ancillary facility due 2023 (the "RCF") and has received commitments from its new banking group to this extent. An additional offering of debt, including by way of senior secured notes, contemplated in Euro and in an amount of $350 million, might follow at a later stage. The company expects to use the net proceeds from the refinancing, together with available cash, to fully repay its existing senior secured credit facilities, as well as for general corporate purposes. It intends to repay all the outstanding $580 million aggregate principal amount of its term loans due 2021, to make a tender offer to repurchase for cash and/or redeem all of the outstanding $438 million aggregate principal amount of its nine per cent first lien senior secured notes due 2020 as well as to cancel certain local loans and overdrafts. Any offering of notes will be offered and issued only (i) in the United States to persons who are "qualified institutional buyers" and (ii) outside the United States to persons who are not "US persons". CEVA received rating upgrades from S&P Global Ratings and Moody's Investors Service in May following the deleveraging from the initial public offering (IPO) and improved operating performance. S&P's long-term issuer rating now stands at BB- with positive outlook, while Moody's has assigned a corporate rating of B1 stable. |
THE Port of Miami is still not wide enough in some areas for large cargo ships to navigate its channels in spite of completing a major dredging project in 2015. The problem with the dredge completed in 2015 was the timing, according to port director Juan Kuryla. The US$205 million dredging project began in 2013 but was based on a study completed in 2004. Since then cargo ships have outgrown original size projections by 50 per cent, reported Miami Herald. When the port's depth was studied in 2004, the capacity of the largest containership expected to pass through the port was 6,600 TEU. The 50-foot dredge completed in 2015 was built to accommodate post Panamax ships with drafts of up to 50 feet in anticipation of the 2016 Panama Canal expansion. To devise a solution, the US Army Corps of Engineers has been allocated $556,250 for a feasibility study regarding port improvements. The port requested the study in March because of issues raised by harbour pilots about navigating the port. The study will go before the Miami-Dade County Commission on July 24. |
ASIAN Terminals Inc's (ATI) Manila south harbour handled a record 560,000 TEU of international freight in the first half of the year. The terminal operator handled an all-time monthly high volume of 105,000 TEU in May, followed by 103,000 TEU in June. ATI said the efforts of the Bureau of Customs-Port of Manila (POM) also contributed to the volume uptick, especially in promoting a private sector and customer-centric philosophy, which improved efficiencies. "Through ATI's and BOC's collaboration we are ensuring the seamless flow of goods through Manila's main gateway port for a robust supply chain," said ATI vice president William Khoury, reported Colchester's Seatrade Maritime News. The company has projected capital expenditure of PHP8 billion (US$150 million) this year to further raise the capacity and efficiency of the ports it operates. Completion of expansion projects ongoing investment in modern terminal systems will increase south harbour's annual container handling capacity to 1.4 million TEU by 2019, up from 1.25 million TEU at present. |
EUROPEAN tariffs are on average much higher than those in the US. Experts are anticipating a considerable increase in trade restrictions - but is the US the driving force here, or do we need to rethink global trade anew? Such thoughts consumed the writers of Hapag-Lloyd's commentary blog "Insights" on the occasion of the US Independence Day, when three experts addressed the question and the economic situation in the US and Europe at the head office of Hapag-Lloyd on Ballindamm in Hamburg, Germany. US Consul General Richard Yoneoka in Hamburg opened the panel discussion by evoking the long-standing connection between Europe and the United States - and by mentioning that disputes with the respective sitting US presidents are also part of this history. He also appealed to see this as the right time to negotiate in order to get to the bottom of the trade imbalance. "If we do not rethink our trade strategy now, we will have to do it at a later point in time - and that possibly under unfavourable conditions," said Mr Yoneoka. The following comments are highlights from the theses of the participants: Ifo Centre for International Economics in Munich director Gabriel Felbermayr: "The USA's real problem is its debt of approximately US$20 billion. This debt cannot be satisfied through a modified trade policy alone. And yet this seems to be one of the set screws for the American policy at present time. "However, I believe that the escalation we are currently seeing is necessary to find a solution to the problem," said Dr Felbermayr. Peter Rashish, director of the Geoeconomics programme of the American Institute for Contemporary German Studies (AICGS) at the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore: "Donald Trump's administration is currently testing whether becoming less dependent on imports would be beneficial to the USA. They are trying something that no other US government has done before. We are therefore witnesses to a big experiment. "Nevertheless, the social changes taking place cannot be explained through the economic situation alone. Rather, many changes in the job market and production are being catalysed by new technologies and digitalisation. In order to overcome this challenge, we do not need an ideology but rather a clear strategy," said Mr Rashish. Said Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS) senior fellow Jacques Pelkmans: "Europe is currently going through a difficult but also very fascinating period. The tariffs imposed on Europe by President Trump are, in my opinion, irrational and do nothing to solve the actual problem. "However, Germany also reacted with irrational tariffs - affecting, for example, American cars for which there is barely any demand. Trump's irrationality is dangerous because it could put us in a dilemma like in the 19th century when trade and foreign policy were intertwined with each other yet there were no global rules." |
HONG KONG's Henry Cheng, the jewelry to property magnate, will acquire Dublin's Sky Leasing for US$2.8 billion, including debt, reports Bloomberg News. Though the Cheng family's Goshawk Aviation announced the deal last month, it didn't disclose the value at the time. Of the total, 70 per cent of the purchase will be funded with debt and the rest from Goshawk parents Chow Tai Fook Enterprises and NWS Holdings. Said son Brian Cheng: "The growth driver will be aircraft leasing in the next five years. The good thing is our fleet is young and liquid. It's like a wet market where you can easily sell. There's always demand there." NWS and Chow Tai Fook are the latest to join a slew of companies in Asia to bet on aircraft leasing as a travel boom in the region fuels demand for planes from airlines, many of whom prefer renting rather than purchase to help cap cost of ownership. |
ETHIOPIAN Airlines, Africa's biggest carrier by revenue, will take a 20 per cent stake in Eritrean Airlines, the state-owned Ethiopian Press Agency reported. Ethiopian will also resume flights to Asmara, the capital of neighboring Eritrea, the ruling party-funded Fana Broadcasting Corp, reported earlier, after the two countries made a historic agreement to end a state of war and rebuild economic ties. Ethiopian Airlines CEO Tewolde Gebremariam and Eritrean Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel had no comment on the report, said Bloomberg News. Landlocked Ethiopia will also resume using Eritrea's ports, which have been closed to it since Eritrea won independence in the early 1990s, and telecommunications links and embassies are being reestablished. The two countries had been at loggerheads since the end of a two-year border war in 2000 that claimed as many as 100,000 lives and left thousands of Ethiopian and Eritrean families divided. |
CHINA Eastern, one of China's big three air carriers, is raising as much as US$2.2 billion from a sale of shares to help fund purchases of aircraft and engines as the company expands its fleet to meet surging demand for air travel, reports Bloomberg. The state-owned airline proposes to sell as many as 1.62 billion shares to mainland investors including the Juneyao Group, collecting CNY11.8 billion (US$1.8 billion) and a further placement of up to HK$3.55 billion (US$452 million) of stock in Hong Kong, according to a filing to the Shanghai Stock Exchange. Chinese carriers have been adding new routes and destinations to serve an aviation market the International Air Transport Association (IATA) estimates will surpass the US. as the world's biggest by as early as 2022. They had a combined fleet of about 3,200 planes at the end of 2017, compared with a little less than 2,000 five years earlier, according to data from the Civil Aviation Administration of China. |