DHL expects Malaysian operations to register double digit growth

DHL, the world’s leading express and logistics company, expects its Malaysian operations to register double-digit growth this year, DHL Express Malaysia Country Manager, Charles Brewer said.

In 2003, DHL Malaysia, which controlled 40 percent of Malaysia’s express cargo business, handled 3.8 million shipments.

“I hope this year’s growth will be more than the 20 percent registered last year,” he told a press conference here after the unveiling of the first DHL-liveried plane operating within Asia.

The DHL-liveried Boeing 737-200 freighter, flying daily between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore and then on to Hong Kong, was unveiled by Deputy Transport Minister Tengku Azlan Ibni Sultan Abu Bakar.

The aircraft is one of the two B727-200 freighters operated by Transmile Air Services for DHL Malaysia. The second freighter flies daily between Penang and Bangkok and then on to Hong Kong.

Transmile Services operates another freighter for DHL, a B737-200 freighter that flies a daily feeder service between Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam.

Brewer said that DHL was well positioned to take advantage of Malaysia’s growth prospect following the consolidation of the DHL brand last year.

DHL, he said was now a one-stop shop, following the bringing together of DHL Wolrdwide Express, Danzas and Deutsche Post Euro Express by parent company Deutsche Post World Net.

He said Malaysia’s cargo business could benefit from the healthy growth in the intra-Asian cargo traffic that is expected to continue for the next five to 15 years.

Asia Pacific is DHL’s fastest growing region, accounting to more than 40 million shipments out of the more than one billion global shipments it sent in 2003.

As part of DHL’s commitment to maintain its number one position in Malaysia, Brewer said the company would continuously evaluate opportunities to make new investment in the country.

Among others, the company had recently invested US$6 million (RM22.8 million) in a warehouse facility in Puchong and had also spent US$52 million (RM197.6 million) in its Global Information Services Centre in Cyberjaya.

Meanwhile, Transmile Group Bhd chairman Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik said that intra-Asian air cargo is expected to grow at double digit rate each year over the next five years as against the global air cargo growth of 6.5 percent per annum during the same period.

The higher intra-Asian growth would be fueled mainly by growth in demand for air cargo from China, he added.