[300621.EN.SEA] Privatisation of HMM Still On: Korean Development Bank Confirms

 

OFFICIALS of the Korea Development Bank (KDB), reported to be the largest investor in HMM as a bondholder, has confirmed they are in discussions exploring a sale of their stake in shipping giant.

The move is part of a plan to privatise some of South Korea's large industrial companies to enhance their competitiveness.

Speculation over a deal began in January 2021 and its timing could be tied to the strong rise in HMM's valuation as the container shipping industry recovered in the past year, reports The Maritime Executive, Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

The Korea Times, quoting the chairman of KDB, Lee Dong-gull, said the bank was exploring the acquisition of the bank's investment in the shipping company with a Korean conglomerate. According to the news outlet, KDB would structure the deal in several stages, including a conversion of the bonds into equity in the company, which would reportedly give the bank a 25 per cent stake in HMM.

KDB reported that it is currently undertaking a comprehensive review with officials of the Korean government as they explore a possible sale of the shipping company.

In January, the Korean media reported that steel company POSCO was the possible buyer of the shipping company and that the bank was beginning the review of a comprehensive restructuring plan for HMM. Bank officials, however, denied that any specific company has approached them at this point about a possible acquisition of its stake in HMM.

Hyundai recorded the highest quarterly operating income in the history of the company during the first quarter of 2021. Revenues nearly doubled to over US$2 billion and operating income rose from a small loss a year ago to over $900 million in the first quarter of 2021.

If the bank proceeds with the privatisation of HMM, it would be their second major effort to strengthen the maritime industries through mergers. KDB was the driving force between the proposed acquisition of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) by Hyundai Heavy Industries. Announced in 2019, that deal remains bogged down waiting for regulatory review from the EU, Korea, and Japan.

Source : HKSG / Photo : Maritime Business World.

[300621.ID.SEA] Ini Penyebab KMP Yunicee Tenggelam di Perairan Bali

 

Bisnis.com, BANYUWANGI - Kapal Motor Penumpang Yunicee  yang mengangkut 41 penumpang dan 12 anak buah kapal tenggelam di perairan Bali. Musibah itu diduga karena kondisi laut yang menyeret dan menenggelamkan kapal tersebut. 

Kepala Kantor Kesyahbandaran dan Otoritas Pelabuhan (KSOP) Kelas III Tanjung Wangi, Banyuwangi, Letkol Marinir Benyamin Ginting mengemukakan KMP Yunicee diduga terseret arus laut dan gelombang tinggi empat meter sebelum tenggelam.

"Tadi kami sempat melakukan pencarian korban di laut, gelombang tinggi mencapai tiga hingga empat meter, kemungkinan ini (gelombang) yang menyeret kapal dan tenggelam," ujar Letkol Marinir Benyamin Ginting kepada wartawan di Pelabuhan Ketapang Banyuwangi, Jawa Timur, Selasa (29/6) tengah malam.

Dia menceritakan saat melakukan pencarian bersama dengan tim SAR gabungan lainnya, pihaknya berhasil mengevakuasi ABK, yakni kepala kamar mesin KMP Yunicee, yang terombang ambing di tengah laut Selat Bali.

Dari kepala kamar mesin tersebut, lanjut dia, diperoleh keterangan bahwa seluruh penumpang kapal dipastikan menggunakan baju pelampung. Sehingga, kata Ginting, besar kemungkinan 14 orang penumpang yang belum ditemukan bisa selamat.

"Dalam pencarian kami menemukan kepala kamar mesin dan menyampaikan semua penumpang menggunakan life jacket. Besar kemungkinan masih bisa ditemukan selamat, meskipun ada enam penumpang yang ditemukan meninggal," katanya.

Kepala kamar mesin KMP Yunicee yang ditemukan selamat itu juga menyampaikan bahwa sebelum kapal tenggelam terseret arus laut dan ombak tinggi ke arah selatan Pelabuhan Gilimanuk.

"Kepala kamar mesin menjelaskan kepada kami, kapal tersebut yang parkir dan menunggu antrean terseret arus. Karena ombaknya besar, kemampuan mesin tidak bisa mengimbangi tingginya gelombang dan terseret. Sekitar lima menit kapal miring dan tenggelam ke sisi kiri," ujarnya.

Sementara itu, Kepala Satuan Pelayanan pada Badan Pengelola Transportasi Darat (BPTD) XI Jawa Timur Rocky Surentu mengatakan KMP Yunicee masih laik dan dari manifest tidak ada dugaan kelebihan muatan.

"Di Ketapang kondisi ombak tidak tinggi, dan di tengah (Selat Bali) gelombang tinggi. Mengenai muatan kapal juga sesuai," ujarnya. Kapal Motor Penumpang (KMP) Yunicee mengangkut 41 penumpang dan 12 anak buah kapal (ABK) dari Pelabuhan Ketapang Banyuwangi, menuju Pelabuhan Gilimanuk, Jembrana, Bali.

Dari 53 penumpang termasuk ABK, hingga Selasa (29/6) malam, ada enam korban ditemukan meninggal, 33 penumpang ditemukan selamat, dan 14 orang lainnya masih dalam pencarian.

Sumber : Bisnis, 30.06.2021.

[290621.EN.SEA] Container Ship Losses Pose Major Headache For Insurers

 

THE possible total constructive loss of the X-Press Pearl stands to be the latest in a line of container ship losses for the insurance industry.

There have been two explosions on board the 2,700 TEU unit-capacity container ship since it initially caught fire on May 21 at anchor near the Sri Lankan port of Colombo.

Speaking to S&P Global Market Intelligence, Martin Hall, head of marine casualty at law firm Clyde & Co, said all signs from the event point to a "total constructive loss" even if the fire is eventually extinguished and the vessel stays afloat.

Rob Hawes, head of marine at loss adjuster Crawford & Co agreed. "I can't see a situation where the vessel and its cargo [aren't] going to be a total loss."

Insurers will face hull and machinery, cargo and liability claims, although there is still much uncertainty about the size of the loss. The vessel itself was only three months old; it is unclear how much the hull was insured for and which company insured it.

Mr Hawes estimated that the cargo loss could be between US$30 million and $50 million, based on the X-Press Pearl's 2,700 container capacity and an assumption that a container houses an average of $15,000 to $20,000 of goods.

He said he thought the loss would be spread among a "large group" of insurers in London, Europe and Asia, and that fire and explosion losses would be covered under "pretty much every cargo insurance policy that's out there."

Marine mutual insurer The London P&I Club, confirmed in a May 26 statement that it provides specialist marine liability cover, known as protection and indemnity, or P&I, to the X-Press Pearl. As the liability insurer, it would cover crew injuries and any environmental impact. The insurer said three crew members have suffered injuries "that are not thought to be life changing."

The London P&I Club is the trading name for London Steam Ship Owners Mutual Insurance Association Ltd and its subsidiary The London P&I Insurance Company (Europe) Ltd.

The environmental impact of the blaze could have significant bearing on the size of the P&I claim. A "serious pollution incident" could lead to the claim swelling to "potential hundreds of millions" of dollars, according to Mr Hawes, but that this would only happen if the vessel sinks.

The vessel sinking in deep water, well away from land, could be a better outcome for the P&I insurer than saving it and bringing it back into port because of the heavy clean-up costs, said Mr Hall.

"They could be in for a huge loss, or alternatively they could be in for quite a small loss," he said.

The P&I insurer could end up picking the tab for the cargo and the salvage cost. In a total loss situation, Mr Hawes expects cargo insurers to try to recover their losses from the shipowners. The salvage team is probably working under the SCOPIC clause, which would mean they would be paid by the P&I insurer, said Hall.

Salvors are usually paid from the value of what is recovered, and the SCOPIC clause ensures they are paid adequately for recovering vessels to limit environmental impacts where vessels are so damaged that they have little commercial value.

A spokesman for The London P&I Club said in an email that the insurer would not speculate about the potential size of the claim.

The X-Press Pearl's claim is likely to keep the persistent threat of container ship losses at the front of marine insurers' minds. The market has already been hit this year by the grounding of the Ever Given in the Suez Canal in March. The final claims bill for that event remains under dispute.

Mr Hawes said there were concerns about the size of the vessels, stowage plans' impact on vessel stability, dangerous goods not being declared and crew fatigue amid pandemic-fueled staff shortages. He noted that a November 2020 article by Norwegian marine mutual Gard said there had been a container ship fire every two weeks at that point in 2020.

Source : HKSG.

[290621.ID.BIZ] Instran Usul Kapasitas Transportasi Maksimal 50 Persen

 

Bisnis.com, JAKARTA - Institut Studi Transportasi (Instran) menyarankan adanya pembatasan kapasitas penumpang angkutan umum jadi 50 persen demi membatasi mobilitas masyarakat ditengah melonjaknya kasus Covid-19.

Pengamat transportasi dan Ketua Instran Darmaningtyas menyarankan agar pemerintah kembali memperketat aturan perjalanan seperti pembatasan operasional kereta jarak jauh dan pengurangan kapasitas angkut.

"Katakanlah kereta jarak jauh nggak boleh jalan dulu, nggak boleh angkut penumpang lah atau ngangkut tapi dengan kapasitas misalnya cuma 40-50 persen," katanya kepada Bisnis.com, Selasa (29/6/2021).

Hal yang sama lanjutnya, juga perlu diberlakukan terhadap operasional bus umum. Selain pembatasan kapasitas angkut penumpang juga perlu diterapkan kewajiban untuk melampirkan hasil negatif tes kesehatan seperti Antigen atau GeNose C19.

Selama ini, ujar dia, kapasitas angkut diperbolehkan sampai 70 persen dengan pelaksanaan tes kesehatan secara acak (random testing) untuk angkutan bus.

"Kemarin kan sampai 70 persen, sekarang mungkin cuma 50 persen. Terus tetap harus dengan tes [kesehatan] lah entah antigen, swab, GeNose, pokoknya harus dengan tes itu mutlak. Hal yang sama itu juga diberlakukan untuk Bus. Jadi operator Bus saya kira juga perlu mempersyaratkan atau mewajibkan bukti tes negatif," tuturnya.

Dia mengakui hal tersebut akan membebani masyarakat yang hendak bepergian. Namun di lain sisi, pengetatan syarat perjalanan akan membuat orang berpikir dua kali bila ingin melakukan perjalanan.

"Memang konsekuensinya akan membebani konsumen tapi nanti memang hanya konsumen yang betul-betul penting yang boleh melakukan pergerakan. Jadi kalau harus tes segala macam kan berat bagi konsumen sehingga mereka kalau nggak berkepentingan beneran nggak akan melakukan perjalanan," tegasnya.

Sumber : Bisnis, 29.06.2021.

[280621.EN.AIR] EU and US End Airbus-Boeing Trade Dispute After 17 Years

 

THE EU and US agreed to end a 17-year dispute over aircraft subsidies, lifting the threat of billions of dollars in punitive tariffs on their economies in a boost to transatlantic relations, reports UK's Financial Times.

Two days of intensive negotiations in Brussels led to a draft deal on how to handle subsidies for Airbus and Boeing, with the breakthrough finalised last week at US president Joe Biden's first EU-US summit meeting in Brussels.

"With this agreement, we are grounding the Airbus-Boeing dispute," said EU trade commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis. "We now have time and space to find a lasting solution, while saving billions of euros in duties for importers on both sides of the Atlantic."

The deal takes the form of a five-year accord to suspend punitive tariffs linked to the original disagreement. Coupled with that is the creation of a minister-level working group to discuss subsidy limits and overcome any issues that may arise between the two sides.

The intention is that disagreement never re-emerges, including for new aircraft models. The deal commits the EU and US to making sure R&D funding to aircraft makers will not "harm the other side". The two sides also pledged to work together in "addressing non-market practices of third parties" - something officials said was a nod to concerns regarding China.

"Both sides agree that it is wiser to put our disputes to rest and see how we [can] actually co-operate in this area, and how we work on ensuring a global level-playing field," Mr Dombrovskis told the Financial Times.

The EU trade commissioner said he was "confident that at the end of the day we will be able to put this dispute to rest completely". He added: "It is already a very big step in that direction."

The deal was confirmed after being reviewed by Airbus's three host countries in the EU - Germany, France and Spain. The French government said in a statement: "We can now focus on putting these disagreements behind us, and on defining the conditions of fair competition at the global level for state support to the aeronautic sector."

The breakthrough lifts a cloud of uncertainty hanging over the airline sector and removes the threat that US$11.5 billion of EU and US consumer goods could again be hit with punitive tariffs.

Those duties - on products ranging from French wine to US sugarcane molasses - were suspended after the EU and US agreed in March to lift them for four months and start negotiations on a solution.

Airbus welcomed the agreement, saying it would provide "the basis to create a level-playing field". The company added that the deal "will also avoid lose-lose tariffs that are only adding to the many challenges that our industry faces".

Source : HKSG / Photo : Investor Daily.

[280621.ID.BIZ] 100 Gerai Matahari Kena Imbas PPKM Mikro

 

Bisnis.com, JAKARTA – Manajemen PT Matahari Department Store Tbk. (LPPF) menyebutkan 100 gerai ritel perusahaan terkena imbas pemberlakuan pembatasan kegiatan masyarakat (PPKM) mikro yang mulai berlaku pada 22 Juni 2021.

Jumlah ini meningkat sejak pembatasan pertama kali diterapkan sepekan lalu. Dalam keterbukaan informasi Bursa Efek Indonesia (BEI), perusahaan melaporkan 100 gerai tersebut merepresentasikan 67 persen dari total toko yang dikelola perusahaan. Seratus gerai ini juga menyumbang sampai 71 persen terhadap total penjualan.

“Berdasarkan informasi per 28 Juni 2021, kami memiliki 100 gerai yang terdampak atas pengurangan jam operasional, meningkat 26 gerai sejak pembatasan dimulai,” jelas manajemen dalam pernyataan, Senin (28/6/2021).

Dari 100 gerai tersebut, gerai di wilayah Jawa, termasuk Jabodetabek, menjadi yang paling terdampak. Adapun sebaran gerai mencakup 71 gerai yang berlokasi di Jawa, 19 gerai di Sumatra, 4 gerai di Kalimantan, dan sisanya di wilayah lain.

Perusahaan menyebutkan gerai-gerai ini terdampak pengurangan jam operasional, beberapa gerai bahkan harus tutup pukul 18.00. Selain itu, sekitar 30 persen dari total gerai terdampak atas pembatasan kunjungan mal atau pengalihan lalu lintas jalan.

Pembatasan kapasitas peritel makanan dan minuman yang mengurangi kunjungan ke mal juga berdampak pada 42 persen gerai. Meski sebagian besar gerai telah mendapat dampak dalam seminggu pelaksanaan PPKM, perusahaan melaporkan masih akan melihat dampak keseluruhan dari kebijakan ini.

Situasi ini pun dipandang dinamis dan mencerminkan kekhawatiran akan penyebaran varian virus Covid-19 delta di tengah masyarakat. “Karena itu, saat ini terlalu dini untuk menyatakan dampak keuangan spesifik dari setiap aspek pengaturan. Namun, manajemen Matahari tetap sepenuhnya siap untuk mematuhi langkah-langkah yang diperlukan oleh otoritas terkait melalui ‘BELANJA AMAN – 5 KOMITMEN MATAHARI’,” tulis perusahaan.

Komitmen yang diberikan mencakup penyediaan kasir khusus untuk lansia, mengutamakan tenaga medis, menyediakan produk primer dan kebutuhan bayi di lokasi yang mudah didapatkan, membersihkan gerai secara menyeluruh, penyediaan alat sanitasi di lokasi, dan penegakan jaga jarak di gerai.

Sumber : Bisnis, 28.06.2021.

[270621.EN.BIZ] Freight forwarding Market Recovering, Expected Growth of 11.6pc in 2021

 

TRANSPORT Intelligence's (Ti) latest report, Global Freight Forwarding 2021, shows the post-Covid-19 global forwarding market is settling into its recovery phase after dramatic contractions in 2020.

However, market dynamics remain skewed with limited capacity available and sky-high freight rates presenting a challenging market for shippers and opportunities for forwarders to secure high margins.

The Global Freight Forwarding market contracted by 8.7 per cent in 2020, recording its worst year since the financial crisis as a result of the pandemic. The sea freight forwarding market contracted by 3.8 per cent in 2020, but air freight forwarding suffered worse with a decline of 12.3 per cent. However, the freight forwarding market is expected to bounce back strongly with growth of 11.6 per cent in 2021 and a CAGR of 5 per cent from 2020-2025 as volumes recover.

The sea freight forwarding market is set to grow at 7.6 per cent in 2021 and at a CAGR of 4.5 per cent from 2020-2025. Growth in 2021 will largely be driven by the bounce back in volumes from 2020, particularly in Q2 2021 vs Q2 2020. Sea freight forwarding growth out to 2025 will be driven by the ongoing recovery in volumes, modal switches from air to sea and new trade agreements generating more trade.

Air freight forwarding is set to grow at 14.9 per cent in 2021 and at a CAGR of 5.4 per cent from 2020-2025. Growth in 2021 is largely driven by a recovery of volumes from 2020 and very high freight rates. Longer term growth out to 2025 will be driven by a recovery in global trade and strong growth in air freight intensive sectors like high tech, pharmaceuticals and cross-border e-commerce.

The new report also shows that amid all the disruption to the air freight market the top 20 freight forwarders have significantly increased their share of overall volumes, from 65.05 per cent in 2019 to 74.89 per cent in 2020. The top 20 actually increased the air freight volumes they handled in 2020, despite market volumes declining by 12.50 per cent. Coupled with the high air freight rates that persisted through 2020, this led to a good year for large forwarders.

The sea freight market also saw volumes decline from 2019, with 9.95 per cent fewer containers handled in 2020. Nevertheless, capacity constraints and high freight rates enabled the top 20 forwarders to broadly maintain their revenues, even though they carried 7.49 per cent fewer containers than in 2019.

"A tumultuous 2020 saw major disruptions in supply chains the world over with the ability of forwarders' to keep goods moving severely tested by shocks to supply and demand, carriers greatly reducing capacity, and congestion at logistics gateways, amongst other forces," said Nick Bailey, Ti's head of research. 

"Although the market saw one of the sharpest contractions in recent memory in real terms, sky high rates resulted in record-breaking top-line performance for many forwarders. The pandemic also accelerated digitisation and digitalisation efforts across the market as speed, agility and responsiveness proved highly valuable capabilities during the crisis."

Source : HKSG.