Tag: Asia

China Post Group wins approval to set up life insurance unit

Posted by | May 20, 2008 | |

The China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) said it has given its approval to China Post Group, a 10 bln-usd company formed out of the State Postal Bureau, to set up a life insurance unit in Beijing.

In a statement dated April 30, the CIRC said the unit will have registered capital of 500 mln yuan.

China Post is expected to operate its insurance business through the postal network.

The group has a 50-50 insurance joint venture, Sino-French Life Insurance Co, with France’s CNP Assurances.

Sino-French Life reported premium income of 8.16 mln yuan in the first three months.

(1 USD = 7.0 Yuan)

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Gati expands but profits drop

Posted by | May 20, 2008 | |

Leading Indian road express trucking company Gati recorded a turnover increase of 5.4pct but a 52.6 pct drop in net profit for the first quarter of 2008 due to rising costs. It has also introduced a new air express service and established Singapore as its regional headquarters.

The company’s turnover grew 5.4pct to Rs 1.47bn (EUR 22.1 million) during January-March 2008. The net profit, however, fell by 52.6pct to Rs 32.2 million (EUR 0.5 million) due to a large increase in operating costs.

Separately, the company has launched a new service “Gati Air Express” offering next day delivery to around 30 locations nationwide and next day before noon delivery across nine local locations to meet customer demands. The company has established a fleet of dedicated freighters and multimodal network to ensure that shipments arrive on time providing seamless connectivity across air, road, ocean and rail.

Meanwhile, Gati has chosen Singapore to become the company’s regional headquarters profiting from the country’s strategic location to expand its business activities into the fast-growing Asia region and beyond and thus strengthen its international network.

Today, Gati has offices in China, Singapore, Japan, Dubai, Hong Kong Thailand, Nepal and Sri Lanka and plans to foray into other markets. Gati International’s revenues have grown from SGD 2.0 Million (EUR 937,116) to SGD 9.6 Million (EUR 4.5 million) over the last 3 years.

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More consolidation ahead in Korean CEP sector

Posted by | May 20, 2008 | |

The South Korean domestic express delivery market is heading for more consolidation after a series of deals over the last year, according to experts. Large conglomerates are entering the market, resulting in tougher competition and falling profits for medium-sized players.

Although the four largest parcel carriers are estimated to have 60% of the market, there are still a large number of smaller players. However, recent moves by industrial conglomerates to enter the market have intensified competition, the Korea Times newspaper reported recently.

The Big Four are Korea Express, Hyundai Express, Hanjin Express and CJ GLS. Korea Express regained leadership of the domestic express parcel market from Hyundai Express in 2007, closely followed by the other two major players.

The biggest transaction in the market recently was the acquisition of Korea Express by the Kumho-Asiana group. Hyundai Express is part of Hyundai Logistics, the logistics division of the international automotive group, while Hanjin Express is part of the Hanjin Group, owner of Korean Air and the Hanjin container shipping company.

The common factor is that the large Korean conglomerates see the parcel sector as a growth market, especially for home deliveries of consumer products bought via the internet or TV, while they also believe they can reduce their internal logistics costs by owning a delivery company.

One consequence is that market players are reducing prices to try to keep or grow their volumes, leading to lower profits. This, in turn, is creating more potential for market consolidation.

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DHL to go beyond traditional approach and focus on customer needs

Posted by | May 20, 2008 | |

Going beyond the traditional approach of providing only back office support, DHL Exel Supply Chain’s IT department specifically focuses on customer needs, according to Mark Wettasinghe, CIO of DHL Exel Supply Chain, Asia Pacific.

Wettasinghe highlighted that IT personnel should understand business situations and translate them into opportunities for technology to play a supporting or enabling role.

To align the IT function with business strategy worldwide, DHL’s parent company DPWN sets policies for local IT departments including organisation, role definitions, performance assessment and recruitment.

He expects the department to further evolve into a business unit by itself, providing IT services to anybody within or outside DHL.

DHL also has to deliver pharmaceutical products with temperature tolerance levels within a set time limit. To meet this challenge, the company uses Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags with temperature sensors.

The company leverages on pick-to-light technology to minimise turnaround time from customer order to actual delivery. A pick-to-light system uses lights to guide the employee to exact warehouse locations where ordered items are to be picked up. “It’s like GPS, which can help you find the shortest or fastest route to town,” said Wettasinghe.

Wettasinghe makes customers’ requests for customisable services as business cases before top management. “I always tell the boss that if the customer is willing to pay, wouldn’t it be worthwhile that for every dollar DHL puts in, the company gets back two dollars in return?”

However, he pointed out that when it comes to providing services internally such as for ERP, finance or HR systems, associated IT costs “have to come down”.

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Nippon Express Denies Abolition of "Pelican" Parcel Service

Posted by | May 20, 2008 | |

Nippon Express Co. denied a news report that its “Pelican”-brand parcel delivery service will be abolished when the company and Japan Post Service Co. integrate their door-to-door package delivery operations in April 2009.

The major Japanese daily Asahi reported in its Monday morning edition that the 30-year-old Pelican brand will be scrapped as Nippon Express and Japan Post Service are set to use the latter’s “You-pack” brand for their joint parcel delivery operations.

Nippon Express and Japan Post Service, a postal service unit of Japan Post Holdings Co., will set up a fifty-fifty joint firm, named JP Express, in June this year to prepare for the integration.

Given that Japan Post Service will later take majority control of JP Express, there is still a possibility of the Pelican brand being scrapped for integration into the You-pack brand.

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