Sunday, March 21, 2010

Century Logistics charts growth strategy

Century Logistics Holdings Bhd (7117), a supply chain management and logistics provider, is reviewing its business model in Thailand, after charting some RM2 million in losses there.

"We want to go slow in Thailand and not put too much hope there. The risk is too big," its managing director Steven Teow Choo Hing told Business Times in an interview.

The group has invested some RM35 million in the country since 2004.

Last year, the group through its subsidiary, Century Logistics Sdn Bhd, completed a RM30 million warehouse-cum-distribution centre in Rojana Industrial Area, 70km off Bangkok.

The initial plan was for the facility to cater to multinational corporations (MNCs) with operations in the vicinity.
Besides Thailand, the group also has a presence in China and India.

While Vietnam was another target market for expansion for its total logistics and supply chain management division, Teow said the group has held off its plans to enter the market in view of the inflationary issues there.

In China, the group is head hunting for a country manager to lead its operations there.

"We want to focus on growth areas that are heavily populated like Shanghai and Beijing," he said.

In India, Century Logistics provides contract logistics services to the MNCs in Chennai and Bangalore.

Teow said, however, the business in India is challenging because of the different duty structures that each state applies.

On its procurement and assembly services, Teow said the company is also looking at replicating its assembly unit success with Syria in Ghana, Africa.

He also said there are plans to expand its oil and gas division to include ancillary logistics operations.

Currently Century Logistics offers only bunker supply services.

Overseas operations contribute about 10 per cent to the group's revenue.

Century Logistics registered a net profit of RM20.9 million on revenue of RM210.9 million for the financial year ended December 31 2009.

Source: Business Times

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