Thursday, April 23, 2009

Whole supply chain will benefit, say hauliers

The liberalisation of the services sub-sectors, including the regional distribution centre (RDC) and international procurement centre (IPC), will attract more foreign investors to Malaysia, which will benefit the whole supply chain.

Association of Malaysian Hauliers (AMH) president Datuk Ahmad Shalimin Shaffie said the move was timely due to the drop in cargo volume which was affecting every player in the whole supply chain, including haulage.

The haulage business suffered a 40% decrease in volume in February on year-on-year basis but it has slowly picked up in March and April.

“The liberalisation has made Malaysia more attractive to foreign investors coupled with our world standard infrastructure. With the move, more multinational companies are expected to set up their operations here.

“The move is also in line with Asean’s trade liberalisation which will be implemented soon,” he said.

The RDC is a collection and consolidation centre for finished goods, components and spare parts to be distributed within or outside Malaysia. Among the value-added activities involved are bulk breaking, repackaging and relabelling.

The IPC undertakes procurement and sale of raw materials, components and finished goods for the local and international market.

Malaysian Logistics Council founding member Dr Mohamed Amin Kassim said that while the liberalisation of the RDC and IPC was good to attract more foreign investors to the country, the incentive should be extended to the logistics sector as well.

In the shipping sector, E.A. Technique (M) Sdn Bhd managing director Datuk Abdul Hak Mohd Amin welcomed the Government’s decision to liberalise certain segments of the industry.

“In the future, we may see large international shipping companies setting up their regional headquarters in Malaysia,” he said.

The liberalisation included rental or leasing services of ships which exclude cabotage and offshore trade as well as bareboat charter for international shipping.

Source: Star Online

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