Tag: Worldwide

Deutsche Post CEO says in no rush on Postbank

Posted by | Jun 15, 2008 | |

Postbank owner, Deutsche Post, is in no hurry to reach a decision on a possible sale of the German retail bank, Chief Executive Frank Appel told Reuters in an interview.

‘I don’t feel any rush or haste. I will decide according to what is best for Deutsche Post, but also for Postbank,’ Appel said on Saturday during a trip to China with German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

Postbank, the country’s biggest retail bank, is up for sale and its owner has invited expressions of interest. Sources familiar with the matter told Reuters last week that if offers are good enough, Deutsche Post will push ahead with a sale within weeks.

Deutsche Bank has flagged interest in Postbank, as have Allianz and Commerzbank, which are making a joint approach. They would plan to swallow Postbank into a newly created group that would include Allianz’s Dresdner Bank.

Asked about the possibilities on the table for Postbank, Appel said: ‘We are sounding out options and are not participating in any speculation.’

Appel was participating in a three-day trip with Steinmeier to China, where Deutsche Post’s delivery arm DHL express is moving to strengthen its foothold in the fast-growing market.

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SMEs optimistic on intra-Asia trade

Posted by | Jun 9, 2008 | |

US economic woes are rattling Asian SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprices) and caution is the watchword amid chal-lenging times, according to a United Parcel Ser-vice (UPS) survey. Only 39 percent of the 1,200 respondents see growth in trade with the US this year, compared with 51 percent last year. But the majority of the SMEs (71 percent) are confident that intra-Asia trade will remain robust despite the economic woes in other regions.

The confidence in intra-Asia trade is a blessing in disguise for UPS as such enterprises provide the bulk of the freight forwarder’s business in Asia. Joseph Guerrisi, UPS vice-president of marketing for Asia-Pacific, said: “UPS is achieving better than the eight percent global growth it has forecast for freight business in Asia.”

However, surcharges that UPS imposes to help defray its surging fuel costs appear to be damping demand somewhat, and more customers are seeking cheaper shipment options, Woodward said.

A recent silver lining for UPS in Asia has been a higher-than-expected demand for its recent Anchorage-Nagoya-Shanghai service. Another positive development is that demand on some routes in Asia has been strong enough to justify a switch to larger aircraft, Woodward said.

Despite the general Asian bearish outlook, there are pockets of optimism among the Asian SMEs, according to the UPS Asia Business Montor. For example, in India some 87 percent of SMEs are upbeat about business growth prospects, which is most likely because of the country’s less dependence on US trade.

In general, Asian SME0 confidence in growth prospects for 2008 has slipped compared to the robust expectations last year, in light of the US economic slowdown, the survey shows.

Optimism has slipped across the region from 57 percent in 2007 to 52 percent in 2008 and a sentiment of caution pervades among SMEs. Half of the companies surveyed feel they will not perform quite as well as they did in 2007. China has slipped from second to fifth position in business prospects for 2008, surpassed by the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia while Japan SME’s confidence has dropped by 10 percent.

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