June 2010

Magazine

from little figs... In this issue... See how your FIG family just keeps on growing... bigger and stronger FIGpay goes live! Send and receive foreign exchange using FIGpay and save $$$’s FIG teams with Supply Chain Digital to tell the FIG story to the world! Free editorial ... Spotlight on the Indian sub-continent - Opportunities for everyone...

index

Have you met our latest FIG Partners? See page 12 for full details...

FIG Annual Conference page 1 Long-distance interview page 2 FIGpay goes live! page 4 Spotlight on Indian sub-continent pages 5 - 10 Movers and Shakers pages 11 - 12 World News in Brief pages 13 - 14 FIG links with Supply Chain Digital page 15

(above)

FIG Bangladesh Monindra Biswas Managing Director

(left)

FIG South Africa Shehan Seneviratne Managing Director

(above) FIG’s latest innovation FIGpay goes live! page 3

Freight International Group will feature in the August edition of Supply Chain Digital... Free editorial for 10 lucky FIG Partners - see page 4

Dates and venue released for our 7th FIG Annual Conference. page 1

page 1

FIG Annual Conference Istanbul 14th - 16th March 2011

A date for your diary...

We are currently finalising details for our FIG Annual Conference 2011 - Istanbul. Our care-fully chosen venue will be the Conrad Hilton, recently awarded the title of ‘Turkey’s Leading Business Hotel’.

Enjoying a prime location in the center of Istanbul, the 2010 European Capital of Culture, the Conrad, Istan-bul hotel is adjacent to the Yiliz Palace and offers stun-ning views of the city, including the banks of the Asian side and the Bosphorus Strait. This luxury hotel is one of the most conveniently located hotels in the Euro-pean side of the city and is close to Dolmabahce, the Grand Bazaar, Hagia Sophia, a number of fashionable shopping districts and malls and the bridge to the Asian side of the Bosphorus.

Leisure amenities include a Health Club with sauna, steam bath, indoor and outdoor pools as well as a fully equipped gym and three floodlit tennis courts.

We will provide a full itinerary in our next FIG Maga-zine (September edition) although our standard con-ference format will apply. Our conference will com-mence with an evening reception, a chance to meet old friends and new FIG Partners in an informal set-ting. Our conference ‘proper’ will follow on the sec-ond day with invited guest speakers and an opportu-nity to receive presentations from a number of dele-gates. An evening tour followed by dinner will take place in the evening (optional) and our popular one-on-one pre-scheduled meetings will take place on the third day with a Gala Dinner in the evening.

We would welcome suggestions from all attendees, for instance, we expect to include a ’spouse package’ which will include an activity for partners and possibly a small ’golf tournament’ during the first day (before the evening reception). We look forward to hearing from you all.

Long-Distance Interview... Our CEO, Chris Humphrey meets Noel Goddard - Director - FTT Global NB: FTT Global provides the ‘power’ behind FIGpay

page 2

CH: Noel, firstly welcome to FIGGROUP, we are always delighted to build alliances with innovative companies

where we can bring added value to membership of the FIG Organization. Can you explain in simple terms how FIG-

pay works?

NG: Thanks for the introduction Chris. FIGpay enables your Partners to book foreign currency conversions and make international payments 24/7 direct from their desktop using our online booking and payment solution.

Whilst there are a few companies that have this ability, none combine the 24/7 availability with real-time access to the FX markets, thereby guaranteeing the best possible price in the market.

When a client books a currency exchange, our system buys the required currency in the marketplace and assigns this currency to the client. The funds are then held until the client has sent us their domestic currency. As soon as we receive funds from the client, we pay the foreign currency on to the supplier or other beneficiary.

Whilst this process is highly automated, we do have a dedicated team of Support Consultants able to assist clients with their transactions. We understand that the value of great technology is only as good as the the customer ser-vice people receive.

CH: How do you manage to offer better rates than other providers including multinational banks?

NG: Our rates are competitive because we use seamless technology to keep our costs down and can therefore op-erate at much lower margins than our competitors. Due to the volumes we transact on a daily basis, our trading partners give us extremely tight pricing and we are able to pass the majority of this benefit on to our clients whilst still making a profit.

Occasionally we do find we are beaten on price but there will always be someone willing to deal for no profit to win a client in the short-term. Over the life of a relationship, we are confident that our rates are market leading for the reasons mentioned previously.

CH: It is clear to see the benefits of making foreign exchange payments using FIGpay. It is also amazing that our

FIG Partners can also save money by ‘receiving’ payments using FIGpay. How does this work?

NG: Many clients use FIGpay as a “Landing Bank” when they are owed foreign currency. By putting our bank details on their invoices and asking those paying the invoice to quote a unique code in the ‘payment reference field’, our system will recognize the funds as belonging to a given client and will email them to confirm funds have arrived. The client can then login and convert these funds back into their domestic currency or any other currency.

CH: FTT Global allows FIG Partners greater flexibility in foreign exchange movements. Can you explain the clever

(and unique) way that FTT Global achieves this flexibility.

NG: Unlike Banks and Currency Brokers, FTT Global uses a unique combination of financial products to book and manage FX exposure. This is proprietary to FTT Global. Because of this, we are able to offer clients greater flexibility in the timing of when funds are sent to us for settling a payment.

Some of our larger corporate clients book a lump sum of a given currency at the beginning of the year and then ‘draw down’ on this over the year. This enables the client to plan, project costs and manage budgets with certainty. This facility is available to most corporate clients.

CH: Some of our FIG Partners make multiple foreign exchange payments each month. If all payments (in different

currencies) were to be sent at the same time, can FIG Partners send just ONE payment to FIGpay in their local (or

any tradeable) currency? This would obviously offer even greater savings.

NG: Yes, once again, our technology is smart enough to recognize when a single payment is covering numerous deals. Booking many payments online and then sending us an aggregated amount of a domestic currency is abso-lutely fine. Any discrepancies will be picked up by our Customer Support Team who will then call the client directly to confirm.

As you will see on the following page, FIGpay is now live! Have you registered yet?

Long-Distance Interview... (cont.) page 3

CH: It is an enormous benefit to a global organization like ours that you offer 24hr support. How does this work?

NG: 24 hours a day, 7 days a week someone in our team is monitoring the system and watching as clients execute deals. Our Support Centre is in the UK and therefore we offer full telephone and email support during office hours.

Outside of this time we have a dedicated Support Centre offering email support. The response times are within 30 minutes and usually much faster than this. Our clients in South America, The Far East and Central Asia are some of our greatest advocates for our Support Team.

CH: Can you tell us about future developments for FIGpay (powered by FTT Global)?

NG: We realize that by listening to our clients and responding to their business needs is the best way to keep our offering relevant and our customers happy. We have numerous developments in the pipeline that have the poten-tial to add value to FIGpay as an offering.

That being said, we also understand the importance of stability and familiarity. Therefore we are cautious to only change the platform in a manner that does not impact on current usage.

In other industries, we have identified entire business processes that can be enhanced by bespoke changes in our platform for a given sector. I imagine as our relationship develops over the coming months, we will see some obvi-ous ways in which we can become more than just a payment provider to you and your clients.

CH: We have had discussions regarding a simple but sophisticated online ‘payment platform’ where users can make

and receive international payments ‘instantly’. We are excited by the prospect of working with you on this project

and would like to invite you to our next FIG Annual Conference in Istanbul (March 2011) to present this amazing

resource to our FIG Partners. Are you able to join us?

NG: I would be delighted to come and meet with you and your FIG Partners in Istanbul. The more I understand about the challenges they face in international payments and trade in general, the more ‘targeted’ we can make the FIGpay offering to address these issues. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

FIGGROUP Just Keeps on Growing!

As announced at our Singapore Confer-ence, FIGGROUP will continue to grow through a series of ‘business modules’ such as our latest innovation - FIGpay. We are currently building our FIGcol-lect website and will release our new FIG (Freight International Group) web-site in a few weeks.

Our aim is ultimately to offer importers and exporters a ‘one-stop-shop’ with a full toolbox of resources to enhance and simplify the processes of interna-tional trade. At this stage all FIGGROUP services will be available from a single ‘Trading Platform’ which will encom-pass communication, payment and of course, transport and logistics.

As we continue to build creative and innovative tools and resources, we would like to thank all our FIG Partners for making FIG a ’global family’.

FIGpay is now LIVE!

Our very own free electronic wire transfer service for making and receiving foreign exchange payments at the very best rates in the market.

www.figpay.com

The FIGpay website is now fully opera-tional and our FIG Partners have already started to register and are saving signifi-cant costs on every foreign exchange payment either sent or received. This FIGpay service is available to any users (not just FIG Partners) which allows any company to invite clients and suppliers to the service offering savings for all and much faster transactions. USD GBP and Euros are usually sent/received same day whilst other currencies are normally dispatched the following day.

FIGpay foreign exchange rates are up to 5% lower than banks and brokers with NO FEES on transactions over GBP3000 (equiv). Users can save even more by arranging several foreign exchange transactions at the same time, making just one single payment to FIGpay in local currency.

FIGpay is 100% safe and secure with all funds held in client segregated accounts in Barclays Bank, UK and insured to GBP£1m for every transaction. FIGpay systems are powered by FTT Global, a significant UK-based foreign exchange dealer.

FIGpay users can enjoy these ‘best in the market’ rates based on our huge contact base and volumes of transactions.

Visit the FIGpay website and check-out our ‘live’ tradeable exchange rates.

Receive foreign exchange payments from your clients and save money on every transaction.

Arrange multiple foreign ex-change payments at once and pay with a single trans-fer in your local currency.

Over 40 tradeable currencies supported.

Invite your clients and sup-pliers to register with FIGpay - everybody saves money!

Same day payments for USD, GBP and Euro - next day for most other currencies.

No fees on transactions over GBP3000 (equiv.)

page 4

Colombo

Islamabad

Thimphu

Karachi

Hyderabad

Dhaka

Lahore

Delhi (New Delhi)

Madras (Chennai)

Sialkot

Calcutta (Kolkata)

Bombay (Mumbai)

Tuticorin

Tiripur

Spotlight on... The Indian Sub-Continent

FIG Offices on Indian Sub-Continent

Kathmandu

Coimbatore

FIG Admin examines emerging markets around the world...

GDP Growth Rate 2009 [Source: CIA World Fact Book (Year 2009)]

World Rank

Country Growth %

12 India 6.5

18 Bangladesh 5.6

30 Nepal 4.7

51 Sri-Lanka 3.5

67 Pakistan 2.7

World Rank

Country Growth %

151 USA -2.4%

188 UK -4.8%

190 Germany -5%

For Illustration...

Whilst many established economies around the world have suffered a significant down-turn in output over the past two years, the Indian sub-continent has continued to expand. See growth examples (right).

Many multi-national ‘corporates’ have declared their strategies to include a focus on expanding and emerging economies. FIG Admin will examine these markets and demon-strate a comprehensive capability in the region giving FIG Partners and importers/exporters a golden chance to maximise opportunities and take advantage of considerable expertise and available resources in these marketplaces.

The Indian sub-continent is home to the largest human population on the planet (over 1.5billion) and has endured hundreds of years of inva-sion, wars and occupation. The rich history and cultural diversity of this territory has given birth to a num-ber of ancient religions and has a work-ethic envied the world over.

Since shaking-off the shackles of the British Empire (last in a long line), the Indian sub-continent has grown and prospered. Although many of the population still exist below poverty levels, it is predicted that through the extraordinary rate of growth being experienced in this region, it will be considered a de-veloped economy within 15 years.

Although Nepal and Bhutan are largely dependent on India in terms of exports and infrastruc-ture, the remaining ’powerhouses’ in the region are attracting huge foreign investment, further fuelling the growth process. Much of this investment is in infrastructure, which will improve supply chains and bring longevity to this move towards globalization.

A final word from the (ex) King of Bhutan “Gross National Happiness is more important than Gross National Product”.

FIG BANGLADESH (click for contact details)

Fair Deal Shipping Limited Staff: 25 Professional Bodies: FIATA ,BAFFA Offices: Dhaka Joined FIG: 2010

FIG PAKISTAN (click for contact details)

Highway Logistics Staff: 26 Professional Bodies: - Offices: Karachi, Lahore, Sialkot, Islamabad Joined FIG: 2005

FIG INDIA (click for contact details)

Wings Logistics Pvt Ltd Staff: 100 Professional Bodies: IATA, CNS,FMC,CTPAT Offices: Mumbai, New Delhi, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Chennai, Tiripur, Coimbatore, Tuticorin Joined FIG: 2008

FIG SRI-LANKA (click for contact details)

Wings Logistics Pvt Ltd Staff: 15 Professional Bodies: FIATA, IATA, CNS, FMC, SLFFA Offices: Colombo Joined FIG: 2005

FIG NEPAL (click for contact details)

Global International Freight Logistics Staff: 15 Professional Bodies: - Offices: Kathmandu Joined FIG: 2004

FIG BHUTAN (click for contact details)

Leko Staff: 10 Professional Bodies: - Offices: Thimphu Joined FIG: 2005

Economy Overview

The GDP growth table (left) demonstrating impressive growth compared to established economies actually represents a ‘slowdown’ for the region’s growth during 2009. Recent statistics indicate a return to ‘double-digit’ growth. India has announced a 35% increase in exports year on year (May 2010). Bangladesh has forecast growth in apparel/textiles to USD$15billion by 2011 (nearly double in five years) partly aided by US and EU caps on Chinese textile imports. Pakistan reports export growth of 28.3% for the year on year period December to March 2010. In Sri-Lanka GDP rose to 6.2% in the quarter to December 2009 and a planned $500m tax-free port zone in the south of the country coupled with a planned new terminal in Colombo port will attract further foreign investment whilst improving infrastructure.

WINGS Logistics was co-founded by a group of experienced professionals in the freight forwarding and logis-tics industry over a decade ago. Over the years we have seen rapid growth, with the setting up of our own offices and the establishment of a strong agency network globally, which has further reinforced our negotiat-ing power to demand more favorable business terms with all the carriers – a BENEFIT that we pass directly to WINGS customers.

WINGS has established itself as a premier, service-oriented, international freight logistics company with special emphasis on the wearing apparel in-dustry worldwide. Under the stewardship of new management, our group is poised for exciting new developments, such as enhancement of our global network, internationalization of the business and the formulation of strategic partnerships.

Building on this highly effective business model, WINGS has become one of the fastest-growing freight forwarders in the industry. We are IATA, CNS and FMC licensed, and are active participants in the CTPAT initiative. Our international network of offices & partners extends to 65 countries where each day we demonstrate our ability to provide heavy lift capacity and uplift our clients' goods, even under the most critical and challenging of circumstances.

Wings Logistics Asia Corporate office is based in Sri Lanka and looks after the Sales/Business Development in Indian Sub Continent region, as well as the rest of Asia.

WINGS Logistics - Sri Lanka was incorporated in 2002 and is located in the heart of the Colombo city with a branch office in the Cargo village at the Colombo Airport in Katunayake. We have now grown rapidly and in our ranks we boast of highly skilled professionals combining numerous years of experience in the Air & Sea Freight forwarding industry.

Our Indian operation is covered from North to South and East to West, Corporate Office centered in Banga-lore and with a fully fledged operation team covering all our branches in major cities, such as Delhi, Mumbai, Madras, Calcutta, Cochin, Coimbatore, Hyderabad, Tuticorin, Tirupur and Pune, along with a dedicated and committed work force all over India to deliver the best on-time services to WINGS customers with 100% accu-racy all the time.

The hallmark of WINGS' success has been its unflagging commitment to service excellence backed by strong management expertise. In our pursuit of excellence, we have restructured our corporate mission to focus on the concept of "Better people, Better Network, Better Service", positioning ourselves to delivering quality services and solutions.

Use WINGS for all your Freight movements to anywhere under the sky. Feel the difference as we combine expertise and experience with a commitment to deliver Service Excellence.

Feel free to contact wings.aco@wingslogistics.com or visit www.wingslogisitcs.com for inquires.

Tony de Livera - Managing Director, Wings Logistics Pvt Ltd pictured at the recent FIG Annual Conference, Singapore. Tony is also Chairman of SLFFA (Sri-Lanka Freight Forwarders Association).

Keep in Touch... Download the FIG Group Toolbar... FREE (click to download)

page 7 FIG India , FIG Sri-Lanka

FIG Bangladesh

FIG Pakistan

Two of our smallest and most isolated FIG Partners, FIG Nepal and FIG Bhutan are also two of our longest serving members.

Although largely dependant on India as a trading partner, these two countries have significant opportunities for international trade. In these remote territories, it is essential to engage the services of trusted and experienced operators. Although these countries may be classed as ‘minnows’ in terms of world trade, their population is greater than Australia resulting in ‘cottage industry’ on a huge scale..

It is relatively easy to find a freight forwarder on the Indian sub-continent. It is much harder to find a trusted, approved for-warder with years of experience in local markets, customs and demography connected to hundreds of global locations with the same expertise and experience. THESE are FIG forwarders...

[Chris Humphrey - CEO - Freight International Group]

“

“

Founded in 2005 in USA, Fair Deal Shipping (FDS) started it’s Bangladesh operation as a private company in 2008. FDS has a vibrant & dynamic management team supported by highly experienced, skilled and dedicated professionals providing a full range of forwarding services.

Fair Deal Shipping services include import/export, airfreight, seafreight, LCL consolidation, air-air, sea-air tranship-ment, project services, courier and customs brokerage. Value-added services provided by FDS include consultancy, sorting, distribution, warehousing and documentation and advisory services.

In a short span of time, FDS has gained enormous trust from it’s customers, Currently FDS clients include Delta Galil Inc., Cote de France, Worldwide Apparels, Dagia Inc., Children Apparels and Copy Cats.

Cargo Competence is our mission. Highway Logistics has been successfully providing an exemplary service in it’s core market of Pakistan since 1990. Through intensive market research and recruitment of motivated multi-lingual staff, anticipation of new developments and investment in information technology, we help our clients to stay one step ahead of the competition. The success of a company is not measured by size or age. Success lies in the speed and effectiveness of response to market changes and the requirements of customers. With wholly owned offices in the four major cities of Pakistan, Highway Logistics is well-placed to meet your requirements!

FIG Nepal - Global International Freight Logistics FIG Bhutan - Leko

page 8

Spotlight on the Indian Sub-Continent Quick Facts

INDIA:

Main Exports: Agricultural Products, Textile Goods, Gems & Jewellery, Software Services & Technol-ogy, Engineering Goods, Chemicals, Leather Products. Main Export Partners: UAE (12.3%), USA (11.7%), China (5.4%), Singapore (4.5%) Total Exports (2009): $165billion

Main Imports: Crude Oil, Machinery, Gems, Fertilizer, Chemicals, Electronic Goods Main Import Partners: China (10.8%), Saudi Arabia (6,9%), USA (6.7%), UAE (6.7%), Iran (4.2%) Total Imports (2009): $253.9billion

Summary - In the past ten years, Indian exports have grown at a rate of nearly 22% led by the IT/Business Process Outsourcing industry ($60billion) which has created 3million jobs through indirect and induced employment and has attracted huge foreign investment in telecoms, power, construc-tion, facilities management, IT transportation, catering & other services. The 2009 trade figures (above) reflect a slowdown in the economy for this period although India has now returned to double-digit growth (35% May 2010) and is on target to be considered a developed economy within ten years.

SRI-LANKA:

Main Exports: Textile & Apparel, Tea & Spices, Diamonds, Emeralds, Rubies, Coconut Products, Rub-ber Manufactures, Fish. Main Export Partners (2008): USA (22.1%), UK (12.1%), Germany (5.2%), Belgium (4.9%), Italy (4.8%) Total Exports (2009): $7billion

Main Imports: Textile Fabrics, Mineral Products, Petroleum, Foodstuffs, Transportation Equipment Main Import Partners (2008): India(18.9%), China(12.4%), Iran(7.7%), Singapore(7.5%), S.Korea(4.8%) Total Imports (2009): $9.6billion

Summary - Sri-Lanka was a contracting party to the GATT agreement, a founding member of WTO (World Trade Organisation) and a member of SAFTA (South Asian Free Trade Area). Trade with India has increased significantly ($2.6billion[2006])since signing a FTA (Free Trade Agreement). Australia has strong trade ties with Sri-Lanka with ‘two-way’ trade reaching $329m in the last financial year. High quality garments is the largest commodity export (63% exported to USA) with over 900 factories serv-ing the world’s leading fashion houses including Victoria’s Secret, Liz Claiborne & Tommy Hilfiger.

Further Reading...

Government of India - Department of Commerce Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics Pakistan - Federal Bureau of Statistics Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce Bhutan - Department of Trade

BANGLADESH: Main Exports: Garments/Textiles (60%), Jute/Jute Goods, Leather Produce, Frozen Fish & Seafood Main Export Partners (2008):USA (24%),Germany (15.3%), UK (10%), France (7.4%), Netherlands (5,5%) Total Exports (2009): $15.91billion Main Imports: Machinery & Equip., Chemicals, Iron & Steel, Textiles, Foodstuffs, Petroleum Products Main Import Partners: China (15.8%), India (15.7%), Kuwait (8.1%), Singapore (7.6%), Japan (4.4%) Total Imports (2009): $20.22billion

NEPAL: Main Exports: Clothing, Pulses, Carpets, Textiles, Juice, Pashmina, Jute Goods Main Export Partners (2008): India (54.8%), USA (9.7%), Bangladesh (9.2%), Germany (4.7%) Total Exports (2009): $907million Main Imports: Petroleum Products, Machinery & Equipment, Gold, Electrical Goods, Medicine Main Import Partners: India (55.2%), China (13.4%), Singapore (2%) Total Imports (2009): $3.626billion

BHUTAN: Main Exports: Electricity (India), Cardomon, Gypsum, Timber, Handicrafts, Cement, Fruit, Gems, Spices Main Export Partners (2008): India (FTA)(86.3%), Bangladesh (8.1%), Italy (1.5%) Total Exports (2008): $513million Main Imports: Fuel & Lubricants, Passenger Cars, Machinery & Parts, Fabrics, Rice Main Import Partners (2008): India (63%), Japan (12.3%), China (5.1%) Total Imports (2008): $533million

PAKISTAN: Main Exports: Textiles/Garments, Rice, Leather Goods, Sports Goods, Chemicals, Carpets & Rugs Main Export Partners (2008): USA (16.1%), UAE (11.7%), Afghanistan (8.6%), UK (4.5%), China (4.2%) Total Exports (2009): $17.87billion Main Imports: Petroleum, Petroleum Products, Machinery, Plastics, Transport Equip., Edible Oils, Paper Main Import Partners (2008):China(14.3%), Saudi Arabia(12.2%), UAE(11.3%), Kuwait(5.5%), USA(4.8%) Total Imports (2009): $28.3billion

“The Global recession which resulted in the shrinkage of the western and developed economies by approx. 5% on average in the year 2009, saw the developing economies maintain a robust growth averaging 6%. This phenomenon has also had a positive impact on the geographical diversification of Pakistani exports, so that Pakistani exports to Asia now accounts for 45% of total exports from Pakistan. Asia has therefore emerged as the largest market for Pakistani goods. The Trade Devel-opment Authority of Pakistan is now doubling it’s levels of participation in Asian markets through increased delegations, exhibitions and other facilitations for Pakistani exporters to take advantage of opportunities in Asian countries.”

[Trade Development Authority of Pakistan - April 2010]

‘Strange but True’

In 2007, Bhutan had the fastest growing economy in the world.... The largest employer in the world is the Indian Railways with 1m + employees... Until 1896 India was the only source of diamonds in the world... Pakistan has the world’s largest deep-sea port—Gwader... In Nepal touching anything with your feet is considered as an offence...

page 11

Movers and Shakers... Latest Developments Within the FIG Family

Changes at FIG Finland (click for contact details)

HACKLIN ACQUIRES BUSINESS ACTIVITIES OF STELLA LOGISTICS

Oy Hacklin Ltd and Stella Logistics Oy Ltd (part of Stella Group) have agreed on an arrangement where all business activities of Stella Logistics Oy Ltd are transferred to Oy Hacklin’s fully owned new daughter company Oy Hacklin Logistics Ltd from 1st July 2010.

The transaction does not include the sellers direct or indirect own-ership of any properties or other activities of Stella Group, which will continue their operations as before.

Pasi Kuusijärvi currently Managing Director of Stella Logistics Oy Ltd has been appointed Managing Director of Oy Hacklin Logistics Ltd on the same date. The personnel of Stella Logistics Oy Ltd are trans-ferred to the new company as ‘old’ employees.

Pasi Kuusijärvi Managing Director

Oy Hacklin Logistics Ltd

FIG UK As announced in our FIG Update bulletin, FIG UK has recruited Pe-ter Jacob as a dedicated Sales Ex-ecutive. Peter has already been in contact with a number of FIG Part-ners and will be seeking increased volumes from our FIG Partners to the UK. Contact Peter directly...

peterj@clovershipping.co.uk

FIG Denmark << click Transocean Shipping Agency has combined warehouse and terminal facilities with three other compa-nies forming a neutral, jointly-owned company - Aarhus Logistics Center A/S. The company has bonded warehouse facilities and storage for perishable items. This initiative does not affect the for-warding business of FIG Denmark.

Jan Henriksen Managing Director

Transocean Shipping Agency

To feature your company in FIG Magazine, just drop us a line at emilyrosa@figgroup.net with a few pictures and a great story...

Delegates at our Singapore Conference have already met Bob Partridge (above) who is co-owner of FIGcollect, our very own interna-tional collection company for overdue accounts.

We are currently building our FIGcollect web-site although Bob is already active in collecting overdue accounts on behalf of our FIG Part-ners. FIGcollect is simply THE most cost-effective way to collect from bad payers and is available to any company, anywhere...

Do you have overdue accounts?

Download .pdf flyer

Contact Bob at admin@figgroup.net

Movers and Shakers... Latest Developments Within the FIG Family

FIG Admin has been delighted to announce a number of new FIG Partners since our last publication of the FIG Magazine.

We expect to achieve our target of representation in 100 coun-tries before our next FIG Annual Conference. We are keen to fill a number of ‘key territories’ and would ask our FIG Partners to

propose possible applicants for these positions.

Latest FIG Partners (since March edition of FIG Magazine)

FIG Austria FIG Greece FIG Oman FIG Bangladesh FIG Hungary FIG Romania FIG Canada FIG Norway FIG South Africa

Please make sure you introduce yourselves to our latest family members. Just click on any country for full contact details. __________________________________________________________________________

Bahrain

Balkans - Slovenia

Bosnia & Hertz Macedonia Croatia Serbia & Montenegro Albania

Chile Colombia Czech Republic Dominican Republic Iran Italy Kuwait Peru Spain Slovakia Venezuela

In addition to the ‘key territories’ listed (left), FIG Admin plans to increase it’s representation on the African continent.

We are in talks with a number of poten-tial African FIG Partners and would wel-come any input from our existing FIG family in Africa.

FIG considers Africa generally to be an emerging economy and will provide a comprehensive infrastructure to facili-tate expected growth in the region.

FIG Admin is also examining the possibil-ity of developing a mobile ‘app’ for future FIGpay products specifically for the African market. Mobile banking is one of the largest growth areas in Africa.

As always, we will keep you posted...

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page 12

Do you know an exceptional forwarder in any of these countries?

World News In brief... news stories from around the world

Global Air Traffic Increases to Pre-Recession Levels Global air cargo traffic in May soared by 34.3% year on year according to IATA and is now above pre-recession levels. The May increase follows a 26% rise in April which was impacted by a six day closure of European airspace following the volcanic eruption in Iceland. Latin America and African carriers led the rally with a year on year increase of around 60%. European airlines continued to lag the rest on the industry with May increases of 21.9% although the weak euro is expected to boost exports in the Euro-zone.

LCL Demand Rises as Rates Harden The weakening dollar and euro are increasing demand for LCL services from Asia. Higher freight rates from mainline container trades are highlighting the impact of currency fluctuations. Shippers in ap-parel or fashion for example that might use a 40ft container once a month might turn to a weekly LCL shipment for greater flexibility and more control over stock levels in a volatile market. [International Freight Weekly]

New Port for Lagos? Nigerias new President, Goodluck Jonathon, is keen to press ahead in his short time in power. As well as negotiating with militant groups in the Niger Delta, the president has introduced oil, gas and power sector reforms and new legislation has now entered parliament which should pave the way for the development of another new port to serve the country’s economic capital, Lagos.

Jonathon became president in May following the death in office of Umrau Yar’Adua. However the ruling People’s Democratic Republic Party (PDP) seems deyermined to select a northern Nigerian candidate for next May’s elections so the southerner, Jonathon is seeking to make as big an impact as possible in his 12 months in office.

The chairman of the House of Representatives committee on marine transport, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, has revealed that Parliament believes that a new port is the best solution to conjestion at the exist-ing port’s terminals in what is the biggest city in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The NPA (Nigerian Ports Authority) has been tasked with drawing up a list of alternative port pro-jects. The selected scheme should not only complement existing container and bulk capacity but should provide plenty of additional capacity to cope with expanding trade volumes over the next decade. [World Cargo News]

page 13

Kenya to Build 2nd Port at Lamu Island

Kenya has awarded a contract to Japan Port Consultants (JPC) to carry out a feasibility study to build a second port at Lamu Island, which experts hope will position the country as a major transhipment hub. The first port at Lamu to the north of Mombasa is being developed with assistance from the government of Qatar and is scheduled for completion at the end of 2011.

60% of Cargo Uninsured?

UK based Bluefin Insurance has joined the growing lobby calling for the insurance of goods in transit to be made compulsory.

Cargo Insurance is not yet compulsory in the UK, but the ever-increasing threat of theft and piracy in certain parts of the world has prompted a renewed focus on the issue. Theft is only one of a number of threats facing the physical movement of goods, yet in excess of 60% of cargo imported or exported from the UK remains uninsured. [World Cargo News]

Tauranga and Otago in Deep Water...

The ports of Tauranga and Otago are pusuing deeper channels in anticipation of a new genera-tion of container ships joining New Zealand trades. The North Island’s Tauranga has been granted resource consent to deepen and widen it’s shipping channels to handle vessels with a capacity of 7000teu. Port of Tauranga CEO Mark Cairns said the port’s ability to accommodate larger container ships would bring significant economic benefits to exporters and importers. On the South Island, Port Otago has lodged a resource and consent application and assessment of environmental effects with the Otago Regional Council for it’s ‘Next Generation Project’. Large container ships are expected to call more frequently in New Zealand. In April OOCL de-ployed the 4,578teu OOCL New Zealand into the NZX consortium trade with South East Asia whereas the previous largest vessels serving the country were 4,100teu.

China Merchants Anticipate Record Year

China Merchant Holdings International (CMHI), which has stakes in ports which handle a third of China’s container traffic, said throughput this year may surpass 2008’s record levels. Vol-umes at CMHI’s Chinese facilities rose by 22% in the first four months of 2010. an overall in-crease in volumes of 15% would surpass the 50.6million Teu handled by the company in 2008. Meanwhile Cosco Pacific which has stakes in 16 termi-nals in China, has reported a 19% increase in throughput to 14million teu for the four months.

Tibet Airlines to Take Off Next Year

The first airline to be based in Tibet will launch it’s first domestic flights from the remote Hima-layan region in the middle of next year.

Tibet Airlines will operate flights within Tibet and link it’s capital Lhasa with other major cities across China.

The carrier is considering buying Boeing 737-700 and Airbus 319 aircraft to service the high-altitude routes. It is not yet clear how many flights the airline will run.

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