BOC
to soon issue one-time amendment to CAO 3-2006
IN the next three weeks, the Bureau
of Customs (BOC) will make a one-time amendment to Customs
Administrative Order No. (CAO) 3-2006 that will allow
accreditation of all parties transacting with the agency.
In a recent dialogue with the Port Users Confederation
(PUC), the BOC said the one-time amendment will be more
practical than issuing separate CAOs for different parties
transacting with the BOC. "This will be less time-consuming
and faster considering the time constraint with the
60-day extension for the full implementation of the
CAO 3-2006 is set to expire on July 21," the BOC
explained. CAO 3-2006 operationalizes Republic Act 9280
or the Customs Brokers Act of 2004 at the Bureau of
Customs. The order specifically states only individual
licensed customs brokers will be accredited and allowed
to transact business with the BOC. Its implementation
was extended following complaints from the logistics
sector of massive retrenchment among customs representatives.
Two of the issues that the BOC will address in the amendment
are the accreditation of freight forwarders and a provision
involving the employment of customs representatives.
Freight forwarders, led by the Alliance of Concerned
Freight Forwarders (ACFFO), are seeking accreditation
claiming there are instances forwarders need to send
representatives to the BOC such as during late submission
of amendments to manifests as well as personal representation
with the office of the District Collector. Come July
21, 2006 when the CAO becomes fully operational, most
ACFFO members would cease to operate as customs brokerage
houses - as the law will no longer accept corporate
practice of customs brokerage - and may encounter some
difficulties entering the BOC without customs passes.
Other industry sectors are also reportedly looking at
seeking separate accreditation at the bureau. The BOC,
the Airfreight Forwarders of the Philippines, Inc.,
Philippine International Seafreight Forwarders Association,
ACFFO, Philippine Shippers Bureau and the Civil Aeronautics
Board have just finished preliminary discussions on
the amendments. On June 13, the groups will meet again
to put in finishing touches to the amendment. The BOC
is expected to come out with a final recommendation
before month's end.
Lorenzo defers
vessel acquisition, expects 10% increase in revenue
for 2006
LORENZO Shipping Corp. (LSC) may postpone
its ship acquisition program for 2007 and instead focus
resources on modernizing cargo-handling equipment for
expansion of services in other sectors. The huge global
demand for ships has pushed up prices, making it difficult
for LSC to go into acquisitions. The company is waiting
for a better time to do so. "The thrust right now
is to improve the quality of shipping. So, it's just
a matter of timing as it all depends on the market,"
LSC vice chairman Doris Magsaysay-Ho said at the sidelines
of LSC's stockholders meeting held last week. LSC wants
to replace its two ageing German-made ships. The last
time the company bought new ships was in the early 90s.
LSC would instead spend at least P50 million for the
acquisition of 500 new containers to replace old ones,
and some P20 million for hog vans, specialized containers
for the delivery of livestock. The company also expects
net revenue to increase 10% within the year as a result
of the 9% surge in cargo volume as a result of its modernization
program. LSC's main business is break bulk shipping,
although it recently ventured into full containerized
shipping services. It has seven vessels but for 2005
only two were operational with the other five on drydock
or under repair. LSC expects all seven to be operational
this year. In November 2004, another Magsaysay shipping
company, National Marine Corp. (NMC), bought the 28.68%
stake of Singapore's Neptune Orient Lines, Ltd., in
LSC. By the middle of last year, Magsaysay-Ho said her
firm wanted to buy all of LSC. By then she had entered
into a voting trust agreement with some of its major
shareholders, including Pioneer Insurance and Surety
Corp., which holds a 20% stake. The company reported
a net income of P27.42 million in the first quarter
of the year, lower than last year's P28.21 million.
This was mainly caused by a 7% reduction in container
volume handled for the period.
DBP
allots more funds for infra, logistics projects
THE Development Bank of the Philippines
is availing of a P26-billion loan from the Japan Bank
for International Cooperation to fund projects in infrastructure
and environment, including those in the logistics sector.
The DBP expects the transaction to be completed in the
next few weeks. Of the amount, P16 billion will be allotted
for infrastructure and logistics projects and the remaining
P10 billion set aside for environment projects. The
loan will beef up the bank's total official development
assistance from the current P44.8 billion. DBP's projects
are focused mainly on infrastructure and logistics,
micro and small and medium enterprise development, environmental
management, and social services. As of end-April, the
total loan portfolio was up 8% to P87.4 billion - P52
billion in developmental loans and P35.3 billion in
commercial loans. To date, DBP has approved P4.43 billion
for 193 projects under the Strong Republic Nautical
Highway project under the bank's sustainable logistics
development program (SLDP). Of the total, P1.8 billion
was set aside for the Road Ro-Ro Terminal System involving
upgrade of vessels, port development and maritime education
projects. For the cold chain or cold storage facilities,
P1 billion was allotted while P1.5 billion was budgeted
for grains terminal and storage facilities. DBP's SLDP
has a total funding of P30 billion. So far, less than
10% of the amount has been utilized.
Negros
Navigation eyes sharing agreements with other carriers
NEGROS Navigation (Nenaco), the country's
oldest ship-ping operator, is looking at striking
agreements with other shipping operators in a bid
to reduce business costs. The measure will not only
make Nenaco's expenses more manageable but will also
increase passenger and cargo traffic. "Nenaco
is in discussion with NMC (National Marine Corp.)
about sharing yard facilities and cargo handling equipment
in order to reduce operating costs," it said
in a report, adding that a similar arrangement with
Aboitiz Transport System (ATS) is eyed. Nenaco and
ATS have already earlier teamed up to attract more
passenger and cargo traffic. Both offer the same rates
for roll on-roll off ships operating in the Manila-Panay
route and have merged their shuttle services in the
area. "To arrest further erosion of the market
to the ro-ro service, Nenaco has deployed seaport
shuttle services from the piers of Iloilo and Bacolod
to public terminals," Nenaco said, adding it
would embark on a similar service in Manila.
ACQUIRING new ships is more practical
for Aboitiz Transport System (ATS) than replacing
engines with fuel-efficient engines, according to
an official of ATS mother firm Aboitiz Equity Ventures
(AEV). AEV president and chief executive officer Jon
Ramon Aboitiz said re-engining is expensive as modern
diesel engines are higher priced than their 1980's
counterpart and difficult to fit in engine rooms of
80's type ships that predominate the Philippine merchant
marine fleet. It also requires drydocking which many
shipping lines could ill afford. Aboitiz earlier said
there are plans to acquire more fuel-efficient ships
for ATS for deployment in profitable routes. ATS,
which operates SuperFerry vessels, has a fleet of
14 ships. It has been eyeing fuel-efficient ships
as prices of oil both in the local and international
markets continue to soar. In the first quarter of
the year, fuel expenses represented about a third
of the total expenditures of the shipping firm. Aboitiz
said he expects ATS to recover and post significant
gains once the fuel oil prices stabilize later in
the year.
