Archive for the 'Dalian' Category

Dalian Port, the largest port company specializing in oil products and liquefied chemicals in northeastern China, is planning a domestic listing for as early as 2009.

In preparation for the listing, Dalian Port plans to increase its capital expenditure to US$140 million.

Jiang Luning, general manager of Dalian Port, said next year an A-share listing is possible but not definite because it will depend on the market situation and other factors.

Dalian Port plans to build 12 more crude oil storage tanks, which will have a total capacity of one to 1.2 million tonnes.

The firm expects its production of crude oil and refined oil to rise 10% this year. Last year it produced about 33.4 million tonnes.
Source: CargoNews Asia

Dalian Port, the largest port company specializing in oil products and liquefied chemicals in northeastern China, is planning a domestic listing for as early as 2009.

As part of this move to be a listed company Dalian Port plans to increase its capital expenditure to US$140 million.

However, the listing is not yet definitive. Jiang Luning, general manager of Dalian Port, said A-share listing is possible but not definite because it will depend on the market situation and other factors.

With its investment Dalian Port plans to build 12 more crude oil storage tanks, which will have a total capacity of one to 1.2 million tonnes.

The firm expects its production of crude oil and refined oil to rise 10% this year. Last year it produced about 33.4 million tonnes.
Source: CargoNews Asia

Dalian Port was, at one time, the number one port in China. Not any longer but it is making a strong comeback and hopes to become a shipping hub for Northeast Asia.

This come-back process started last May when China’s largest mineral ore berth started trial operations.
A month later it announced it had opened more ocean routes and lifted its container volume.
In July, Dalian Port began trial operations of China’s largest crude oil berth and started construction of giant auto berths.

Dalian is not the only port expanding and modernizing in the north east. There is, as it were, a three-port battle for Northeast Asia hub status.

The other two vying for the status are Tianjin and Qingdao.

Tianjin leads the northern trio in general cargo volume and is expected to further increase the gap this year by boosting general cargo capacity by 42 million tons and container capacity by 1.5 million TEUs.

Qingdao is China’s third largest container port after Shanghai and Shenzhen and its general cargo volume is also more than that of Dalian.

Dalian Port also faces fresh competition from the neighboring ports of Yingkou and Jinzhou.

Hui Kai, director of the Dalian Port Authority, is aware of the port’s deficiencies being outnumbered in container terminals and general cargo berths. But he said, ‘By 2010, Dalian will be able to handle 250 million tons of general cargo and 10 million TEUs of containers. And by 2020, the port will lift its capacity to 350 million tons of general cargo and 15 million TEUs of containers.’

Crude oil, roll on-roll off cargo, grain and containers will be the main targets of the port. For a very full report click on Source.
Source: CargoNews Asia

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, seen in our illustration, said in Dalian that the aim is to make Dalian not only a major harbor along China’s northeast coast but also a shipping center of Northeast Asia.

He said that all projects under construction should be carefully designed and planned and lead the way in the region. The premier urged the city to take a scientific approach to development and balance the economic development with environmental protection to turn Dalian into a well-developed, harmonious and ecologically beautiful city.

He had just attended the Summer Davos meeting in Dalian and said, ‘Good environment is one of the reasons why Summer Davos was held here. Some 1,000 foreign participants could not only visit local enterprises but also enjoy the blue sky with white clouds and experience Dalian’s efforts in energy-saving and sustainable development.’

While in Dalian, the premier visited Datyaowan bonded zone and the new harbor under construction.
Source: China Daily

Sinorail Bohai Train Ferry, the country’s leading train ferry firm, plans an initial public offering (IPO).

Chi Baozhang, general manager of Sinorail, which has been in operation for less than a year (our illustration is of the first ferry being launched), said this while attending the Inaugural Annual Meeting of New Champions of the World Economic Forum.

No decision has yet been made as to where the IPO will be held but he said but an overseas IPO could take place in three years.

The company has booked sales of about RMB200 million ($26.53 million) since the start of operations in November. It operates the country’s first train ferry route across the Bohai Sea, connecting Dalian in Liaoning Province and Yantai in Shandong Province. The entire route spans about 159 kilometers.

Before this service, traffic from Northeast China would reach East China via a 1,000-km route.

Chi Baozhang said, ‘There are frequent economic and personnel exchanges between Northeast China and Shandong, Jiangsu and Zhejiang. The train ferry route has opened up a shortcut between the two regions.’

The new company, which operates two ferryboats across the sea, plans to double its freight by 2010. A long-term development goal is to have eight vessels on the sea by 2020. For now, the company hopes to expand its business from cargo to passengers.

The third ferryboat, which is expected to be put into use by the end of this year, will have facilities catering to passengers.
Source: China Daily

China now has a harbor area with preferential tax rates in the north-eastern city of Dalian. This is pretty important as it is a major step towards forming a free trade zone between China, Japan and the Republic of Korea.

The Dayaowan Bonded Harbor Area, at the Dagushan Peninsula in the northeastern part of Dalian, enjoys preferential taxation and foreign exchange policies.

Zhang Shikun, director of the Dalian Bonded Area Administrative Committee, said, ‘It will remove tariffs for foreign cargo and offer tax rebates for domestic cargo. It will also exempt businesses from value added taxes and consumption taxes if they trade with each other.’

The first phase of the area covers 3.06 square kilometers and includes warehouses, cold storage facilities, a container terminal and processing and logistics services.

About RMB200 million ($25 million has been spent on the construction of the area.
The second phase is expected to be finished by the end of next year, expanding the area to 6.88 square km.

The Dalian port is the seventh largest in China and handled 200 million tons of cargo and 30 million containers (TEUs) last year.
Source: China Daily

Last year China maintained its position as the world’s third-biggest shipbuilder, a rank it has held for 12 consecutive years. Ship export volume surged 74% to $8.11 billion.

Two leading domestic shipbuilders, Dalian Shipbuilding Industry and Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding became world top-10 shipbuilders, joining a list that was before the sole domain of Japanese and South Korean companies.

Nie Lijuan, managing deputy secretary-general of China Association of National Shipbuilding Industry, said, ‘China’s position as the world’s third-largest shipbuilder is totally different from that 10 years ago. The country has significantly improved its shipbuilding competitiveness.’

Chinese shipbuilders produced 14.52 million deadweight tons last year, nearly 20% of the world’s total, compared to only 6% in 2000. Types of made-in-China ships have developed from conventional bulk carriers and crude oil tankers into high value and sophisticated vessels, such as very large crude carriers (VLCCs), liquefied natural gas carriers and high-speed container ships.
Source: China Daily

According to a report conducted by Dalian Maritime University and Shipping China, an industry website based in Dalian, Shanghai International Port, operator of China’s busiest container port, ranks highest among China’s sixty ports in terms of comprehensive competence.

The comprehensive competence of 60 major ports in China was surveyed by evaluating investment trends, handling capacity, financial situations and geographical conditions.

Liu Bin, professor with Dalian Maritime University said Shanghai port scored 257.9 points, ranking highest with an absolute advantage among all the ports. He said it was the only port in China that is internationally competitive.

Shanghai, Shenzhen, Qingdao, Guangzhou and Ningbo ports were the top five out of sixty ports with comprehensive competence on the list, followed by Tianjin, Xiamen, Dalian, Lianyungang and Yingkou ports.

Shipping China conducted an online survey that covered some 12,000 Chinese respondents, all of whom are involved in some way with shipping. They were asked to evaluate the levels of service of domestic major ports based on staff service attitudes, service regulation and facilities, port handling capacity, charge and direct shipping service. Surprisingly, the survey found that Lianyungang port came out top in terms of customer satisfaction, followed by Yingkou, Qingdao, Tianjin and Shanghai ports.
Source: China Daily

The plan is that Dalian Dayaowan Bonded Port Area will open Northeast China up to the outside world.

Wang Zhongyu, vice-chairman of National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, China’s top political advisory body, said, ‘The construction of the Dayaowan Port Area will help the cluster of ports in Northeast China compete in the international market. The competition in the international shipping market is fierce. Neighboring countries like South Korea and Japan are also integrating their port-related resources to build international transportation hubs.’

Wang Zhongyu made these remarks at a seminar about the construction of the bonded port area.

The State Council approved the establishment of Dalian Dayaowan Bonded Port Area last August. It will be the third such area in the country after Yangshan Port in Shanghai and Dongjiang Port in Tianjin.

The new port area is expected to go into operation by the end of June. The first phase of construction on the port area has started within a 6.88 square kilometer area designated for the project.

The history of the area is totally fascinating.

First let us place it geographically. Dalian is one of the most heavily developed industrial areas of China and today consists of Dalian proper and the smaller Lüshunkou, formerly Lüshun city, known in western and Russian historic references as Port Arthur. Dalian is west of the Yellow Sea and east of Bohai Sea and roughly in the middle of the Liaodong/Liaotung peninsula at its narrowest neck or isthmus. It has a coastline of 1,906km.

Historically it has been called a lot of names. First Sanshan, then San Shanpu, then Sanshan Seaport, followed by Qing Niwakou in the Qing Dynasty. In the 1880s, the Qing government constructed loading bridges and fortifications with built-in cannons, and set up mining camps on the northern coast of Dalian Gulf, making it into a small. fortified town.

The settlement was occupied by the British in 1858, returned to China in the 1880s, and then occupied by Japan in 1895 during the first Sino-Japanese War.

In 1898, the Russian Empire leased the peninsula from the Qing Dynasty, and a modern city was laid out with the name of Dalny. It was linked to the Trans-Siberian Railway and became Russia’s primary port-city in Asia.

Then, as misfortune would have it, Dalny, that which we now call Dalian, was the main battlefield of the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895 and Russo-Japanese War (1905).
After the Russo-Japanese war, Port Arthur (as it was then called in the west) was ceded to Japan.

In 1937, the modern Dalian City was enlarged and modernized by the Japanese as two cities: the northern Dairen (Dalian) and the southern Ryojun (Lushun).

In 1945 Dalian came out from under the control of Japan and was taken over by the Soviets. They had been there fighting the Japanese and remained in the city until 1955. The transfer of the area back to China from Russia was done on friendly terms.

In the 1990s Bo Xilai became mayor of the city. He banned bicycles (they exist now but are still not that numerous), created large, lush parks in the city’s many traffic circles and made Dalian into an attractive city.

Source: China Daily and research.

ProLogis, the world’s largest owner, manager and developer of distribution facilitieswill develop a new, state-of-the-art industrial park at the Port of Dalian in northeastern China. ProLogis, through a joint venture, has secured land at the port that can support more than 290,000 square meters of distribution space. The company has also acquired two existing warehouse facilities totaling about 21,800 square meters, which are currently 95% leased to multinational and local shippers and logistics providers.

The new park will be called ProLogis Park Dalian Port and will serve demand for modern warehouse facilities tied to rising import and export activity at Dalian, China’s eighth-largest port by container volume. Dalian wll probably process approximately 3.2 million containers in 2006 which is a 20 percent increase over the prior year and is a figure to give anyone pause.

The container throughput is expected to triple by the year 2010. That is, 10 million containers will by then be moving through the port. Part of this increase is due to the port’s status as one of three central government-sponsored free trade zones as well as its proximity to markets in Korea and Japan.

Ming Mei, ProLogis managing director and head of China operations for the company, said, ‘Port markets are a lynchpin of our overall strategy in China. Container volume at virtually every major port in the country is growing at remarkable rates and can be expected to do so for the foreseeable future. Over the past two years, ProLogis has established land positions at Chinese ports that can support more than 2.3 million square meters of total warehouse development, all of it in prime locations to serve existing and future customer demand.

‘Dalian is a natural extension of this strategy. We believe ProLogis Park Dalian Port will become the premier distribution site for this area of northeastern China, and significantly enhance our overall platform and presence in the market.’
Source: PR release