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China India look to bring down destructive tensions2 Safexpress launches ultra-modern strategically located Logistics Park4There will be no edition of BSN on 30th April, 2018 due to Buddha Pournima.Vol. XVII-No. 26 n Mumbai, Thursday, 26 April 2018 www.bhandarkarpublications.com n Price: Rs. 10/-JAFZA’s trade with India reaches over USD 3.4 Bn n Agencies Trade between Jebel Ali Freezone (Jafza) and India reached new record worth over US$ 3.4 billion in 2017. Latest figures from Jafza show that over 788 Indian companies are trading from the freezone serving key marketsin the region and building on historical ties that date back to 1985 when it first opened. DP World has extensive business interests in India, including six container terminals, Inland Container Depots (ICD), warehouses and container rail freight services. Earlier this year it formed a strategic partnership with the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF), to invest up to US$ 3 billion in brownfield container terminals, long term greenfield container concessions, Inland Container Depots (ICDs) and expansion of existing intermodal rail services for rolling stock. The first investment by the partnership was made in March this year when DP World joint venture HindustanInfralog Private Limited (HIPL) acquired a 90 per cent stake in Continental Warehousing Corporation (Nhava Seva) Ltd (CWCNSL), an integrated multimodal logistics company. Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Group Chairman and CEO, DP World, said: “The UAE and India have an enduring relationship and we are building firm foundations for the future. DP World has been a part of India’s amazing economic growth for nearly two decades and we are reinforcing our commitment to it, enabling trade through our operations in the country. We believe our expertise in building logistics infrastructure together with our partnerships there will help India realise its full potential as a global trading power. For almost 40 years Jebel Ali Port has plays a pivotal role in supporting India’s trade with its global connectivity and world class facilities. India is our most important market and our operations support over 30 per cent of the country’s container trade.” The UAE is India’s second largest trading partner, accounting for more than 10 per cent of Indian exports. UAEIndia trade was USD 52,685,000 in 2016-17. India was second largest trading partner of Dubai with USD 27 billion (AED 99 billion) worth of trade in 2017.Taipei Charcha Taiwan warming up to Indian market n BSN Network / New Delhi As for doing business, the cash-rich economy Taipei has been looking the other way, largely towards China, where a staggering 80,000 Taiwanese companies have set up shop. Back home, the number stands at 110. James Huang, Chairman, Taiwan External Trade Development Council (Taitra) is candid about the grim state of trade ties. “We haven’t paid much attention to India so far,” he said, but quickly added, “India is emerging as an important market forus, as has been indicated in our latest foreign policy framework.” India ranks 14th in exports for Taiwan, and its companies invested just $287 million since 2000 in India. Compared to the billions plonked down in other South Asian countries, India’s share appears negligible, but the operating point is the pace at which bilateral trade is growing—a healthy 27 per cent in FY17 ($6.3 billion) over the previous year and Taitra hopes to maintain the double-digit growth. Contd. on page 7Adani Ports sees 42% rise in throughput at Kattupalli in FY17-18 n BSN Network / AhmedabadAdani Ports & Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ), India’s largest port developer said that it had registered an impressive 42% increase in throughput at Kattupalli port, by successfully handling 493,260 TEUs in the FY 2017-18. After carving a niche in its initial years of operation, Kattupalli port has in the past year firmly entrenched itself as the port of choice for the business and trading community in the southern markets of India.Kattupalli proffers to its customers best-in-class infrastructure, designed to adequately handle the fastgrowing volumes. Free from the congestion related issues that typically afflict city based ports, Kattupalli has efficaciously ensured supply chain reliability for customers who use the port. In view of the rapid economic and volume growth expected in the southern region, Kattupalli stands well poised to better serve the needs of the import and export (EXIM) community in the future, offering customised transportation solutions and reducing supply chain costs and complexity. Contd. on page 72 2Mumbai, Thursday, 26 April 2018CHINA TIES, INFORMAL TIESChina India look to bring down destructive tensionsChina was always an important trade partner. And China was always a tensed political partner too. But there are some informal trends. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will travel to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping this week, as the world’s two most-populous countries seek to reduce tensions after a tense border dispute last year. The “informal summit” between Xi Jinping and PM Modi will be held Friday and Saturday in Wuhan, the capital of the central province of Hubei, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Sunday at a news conference with India External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj. The meeting is part of an intensifying dialogue between the two leaders whose countries comprise more than one-third of the world’s population and 18 percent of global gross domestic product. It comes as both powers seek to reduce risk in their regional environments as China faces down U.S. President Donald Trump’s threatened trade actions and PM Modi seeks to keep India’s economy on track ahead of the 2019 election. “It is very rare for two major countries like China and India to meet together so frequently,” said Qian Feng, a researcher on international relations with Tsinghua University in Beijing. “For both sides, a peaceful border and a mutually beneficial trading partnership are obviously more in line with their interests. For this reason, the two sides are tacitly recovering bilateral relations rapidly.” Xi and PM Modi met last September and are scheduled to meet again in June for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization meeting in China’s eastern port city of Qingdao. Both leaders have strong domestic reasons to put tensions aside. “For China, the ongoing trade war with the U.S. prompted Beijing to adopt a more sensible attitude towards India,” Qian Feng said, adding that PM Modi’s economic and social reforms have slowed. “The turbulent global economic situation has increased economic risk in India.” The countries’ foreign ministers emphasised the broader strategic context behind the meeting. Xi and PM Modiwould have “communications of a strategic nature concerning big changes happening in the world,” Mr Wang told reporters in Beijing. “They will also exchange views on overall, long-term and strategic matters concerning the future of ChinaIndia relations.” The two sides are setting aside formalities for the meeting in the hope of a breakthrough before border tensions resurface, according to Shailesh Kumar, political risk firm Eurasia Group’s Asia director. “The informal nature and timing of the summit indicates that first, both sides want to be able to discuss all topics in a free and cordial manner without the standard formalities,” Kumar said. “Second, they want to meet before the summer, when many worry tensions between both armies in the mountain areas could rise again as the weather is less hostile.” The move toward rapprochement was facilitated by a meeting between Xi and PM Modi last September, when they held their first talks since defusing a border stand-off in remote region between India, Bhutan and China’s Tibet region. Ms Swaraj, the Indian foreign minister, described peace and tranquility on the countries’ border areas as an “essential prerequisite for the smooth development of bilateral relations.” The summit was good news in the short-term for investors in Asia, Mr Kumar said. “Priorities will be to build deeper ties to mitigate any security related disagreements while also establishing a framework to handle any issues as they arise,” he said. Longer term, though, differences between the two powers are likely to resurface. “Distrust is high and tensions will remain, particularly given China’s financial involvement in Pakistan, which India sees as a strategic rather than economic engagement that can hurt India,” Mr Kumar said. Tensions have lingered since China defeated India in a brief border war in 1962. The residence of the Tibetan religious leader, the Dalai Lama, in the mountain town of Dharamsala in Northern India has also long angered Beijing. They’ve been exacerbated by Beijing’s rapid expansion of its political and economic ties in India’s backyard through Xi’s ambitious Belt and Road infrastructure initiative. Projects include railway building in Pakistan and port projects in Sri Lanka. Doubtless to say this is going to be a bold step for both countries.BHANDARKAR SHIPPING NEWSHapag-Lloyd to make first-ever call at Prince Rupert in Canada n Agencies l First call on April 21 l Gateway to other destinations in Canada and the US l New options for customers l Weekly service and short transit times from Shanghai Hapag-Lloyd, the market leader in Canada, is expanding its local network. On April 21, the “YM Masculinity” called at a new destination, the Port of Prince Rupert, for the first time. The ship, which operates on the ‘PS8’ service of THE Alliance, was sailing from Asia to North America offering leading transit times and new options for customers. “With the decision to incorporate Prince Rupert into our network, we strengthen and further expand our position in Canada,” explained Uffe Ostergaard, President of Hapag-LloydAmerica. “Prince Rupert is the closest major North American port to Asia with direct access to CN’s Class 1 continental rail network. In this way, we can offer our customers additional options for their transports. We expect that the port call will develop well and offer our customers a genuine alternative.” There has been a strong interest from the market for the first eastbound sailing including many containers with furniture, machine parts and computers. In Prince Rupert, it will mainly be loaded with forest products and agricultural goods for different Asian markets. The port offers short transit times to other destinations in Canada and USA. For example, transports take only three days to Calgary and only five days to Montreal. In 2017, Prince Rupert increased its handling volume by 26 percent over 2016 volumes.E-COMMERCE Think tank to design Framework for Natiional Policy on E-Commerce n BSN Network / New Delhi Minister of Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation, Suresh Prabhu, will chair the first meeting of the think tank on the Framework for National Policy on E-commerce to be held on April 24th, 2018. Senior officers of the ministries/ departments of the Government of India involved in different aspects of e-commerce; high level representatives from the industry bodies, e-commerce companies, telecommunication companies and IT companies; Reserve Bank of India; and independent experts have been invited to participate in the meeting. The think tank on the Framework for National Policy on E-commerce has been established recently by the Department of Commerce. It will provide a credible forum for an inclusive and factbased dialogue leading to recommendations for informed policy making, so that the country is adequately prepared to take advantage of the opportunities, and meet the challenges, that would arise from the next wave of advancements in digital economy. The think tank on the Framework for National Policy on E-commerce will seek tocollectively deliberate on the challenges confronting India in the arena of digital economy with a view to developing recommendations for a comprehensive and overarching national policy on e-commerce. Some of the issues that will be discussed by the think tank include the following aspects of e-commerce and digital economy: physical and digital infrastructure, regulatory regime, taxation policy, data flows, server localisation, intellectual property rights protection, FDI, technology flows, responding to disruptions in industrial organisation, need for skill development and traderelated aspects. Developments on e-commerce at the WTO and evolving appropriate national position on the underlying issues, would be another important dimension of the discussions of the think tank on the Framework for National Policy on E-commerce. The think tank will explore options for providing a fillip to entrepreneurship in digital economy. It will identify specific policy interventions for nurturing domestic firms and create jobs in e-commerce. Representatives of almost fifty organisations are expected to participate in the first meeting of the think tank on the Framework for National Policy on E-commerce to be held on 24 April 2018.BHANDARKAR SHIPPING NEWSMumbai, Thursday, 26 April 2018Can Cargo fire incidents be minimized to Zero?There are several cargo fire accidents reported in last few years. Everyone in maritime industry and others connected with it understand that shipping dangerous goods is a very complex business. All the crew members engaged on a ship and involved3directly with dangerous cargo carried on the ship are required to undergo dangerous goods course to understand the importance and use of IMDG code which is as per guidelines of IMO. See pg. 44Mumbai, Thursday, 26 April 2018Can Cargo fire incidents be minimized to Zero?n BSN Network / Mumbai There are several cargo fire accidents reported in last few years. Everyone in maritime industry and others connected with it understand that shipping dangerous goods is a very complex business. All the crew members engaged on a ship and involved directly with dangerous cargo carried on the ship are required to undergo dangerous goods course to understand the importance and use of IMDG code which is as per guidelines of IMO. This and other aspects of carrying dangerous goods were discussed at BSN’s Seminar on HAZMAT recently held here. It threw light on dangers involved in transportation of hazardous materials through all modes of transport be it Air, Rail, Road and Water. Dangerous goods transportation is not one time learning process but its knowledge needs to be refreshed and updated from time to time said Capt. Sunil Suri during the HAZMAT Seminar conducted by Bhandarkar Publications on 13th and 14th April, 2018.. Capt. Suri stated, “Although DG Desk takes immediate damage control actions, the time lapsed, by the time actions taken, such as Informing Vessel Planner & Port offices, obtaining necessary DG Documents and providing to ship master and vessel Planner, ensuring that the DG Container is correctly stowed or re-stowed / offloading at next port is huge; and damage is already done.” Capt. Bhandarkar and speakers- Dinesh Gautama, President, Navkar Corporation,Capt. M.M.Saggi, Former Nautical Advisor, Presently Director NMIS, Sanjay Sasane, Dy. Regional Transport Officer, Ajay Bari, Manager, Safety & Training, Int. Airport Pvt. Ltd, Jayyannt Lapsiaa, President, ALBEIA, Sharat Sudhakar Chandrayan, IRTS, Chief GM, CONCOR, Capt. Dinesh Gautama, President, Navkar Corporation, Capt.Sunil Suri, Head ONE, Global vessel operation Centre focused on how to minimize Cargo fire incidents to Zero.This is what some of the participants had to say about the sessions during the seminar: “I feel more confident now”; “topics very beneficial”; “valuable experience”; “exceeded my expectations”; “couldn’t have found a better teachers”; “speakers very supportive and approachable” “training very well organized”; “ Enjoyed Online Fastest Finger First game on HNS” and so on. Speakers from all verticals came under one roof to talk on ‘handling dangerous goods’.In short the seminar was very useful and easy to comprehend with the aid of audio visual presentations. Ample real life examples and interaction with the audience was its highlight.BHANDARKAR SHIPPING NEWSDhamra and Steel Handling Dhamra Port has started with the receipt of the first rack from Tata Steel’sn BSN Network / Mumbai Steel handling at Odisha’s Dhamra Port has started with the receipt of the first rack from Tata Steel’s Kalinga Nagar plant by the train route, an official statement said. In the first phase, 6,000 metric tonnes of steel coil has been received by Dhamra Port in Bhadrak district, said the statement. With this, a new chapter in the profile of Dhamra Port has commenced, it said, adding the poet’s hinterland has many steel plants such as of Tata Steel, GAIL, JSPL, Bhusan Steel, and JSW. Steel consignment both for domestic movement on coastal shipping route to South andWest India get a new avenue,while India’s penetration into Southeast and South Asia including ASEAN countries will get a new port for dispatch, the statement said. Recently, Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani pronounced the strategic importance of Dhamra Port as a gateway for the South Asia and ASEAN market.SPICING UPSpice exports’ volume jump 20%n BSN Network / New Delhi Indian spices and spice products exports earned Rs. 13,167 crore from 797,145 tonnes during April-December 2017 as against 663,247 tonnes valued at Rs. 12,607 crore a year earlier. This represents an increase of 20% in volume and 4% inrupee terms, said a press release. In dollars, spices exports rose 9% to $2,041 million. Shipments of small cardamom, cumin, garlic, asafoetida, tamarind and seeds such as ajwain or Bishop’s weed, mustard, dill and poppy seed propelled exports. Exports of value-added products like curry powder, mint products, spice oils and oleoresins rose in volume and value, the release said. Spices Board chairman A. Jayathilak said, “India has been able to sustain the demand for its trademark spices in international markets in the face of stiff competition and stringent food safety regulations.”Safexpress and Hubali n BSN Network / Bengaluru Safexpress, India’s largest supply chain and logistics company, has launched its ultra-modern Logistics Park in Hubli. This top-notch facility is strategically located on National Highway 4, which is connected to Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru and Chennai. This Logistics Park will foster economic growth in the Karnataka region. Speaking at the launch ceremony, Rubal Jain, Managing Director, Safexpress said, “Hubli is one of the most rapidly growing cities of India. Hubli is the commercial centre and business hub of the North Karnatakaregion. Hubli Safexpress launches Hubli will help in also houses bridging these ultra-modern the largest infrastructure strategically located gaps. It will number of government also allow us to Logistics Park offices other provide clients than Bengaluru. In 2016, with the latest transhipment as Hubli-Dharwad twin cities well as 3PL services. With the were selected for solar city/ development of Hubli Logistics green city master plans. Park, we will be able to further Recently, Hubli was also boost our leadership position selected for a smart city in the supply chain & logistics project. ” industry.” Explaining about how Jain elaborated, “Over the this Logistics Park will years, Hubli has flourished enable economic growth in economically. It has a wide the Karnataka region, Rubal cluster of industries and has Jain said, “We have made more than a lakh small and a significant investment to medium enterprises. However, set up this state-of-the-art despite having the presence Logistics infrastructure in of many small and medium Hubli. The development of enterprises, Hubli does not Safexpress Logistics Park have adequate warehousing in Hubli has been done on and Logistics infrastructure. a land area of over 30,000 Safexpress Logistics Park atsquare feet. This Logistics Park is enabled with stateof-the-art tr
