Further delay sought in forwarding paid-up capital rule implementation
SMALL and medium-scale freight forwarders
are asking for a three- to five-year delay in the implementation
of a paid-up capital requirement by the Philippine Shippers’
Bureau (PSB). This is on top of the two-year transitory provision
earlier approved by the PSB.
The group, led by the Alliance of Concerned Freight Forwarders
(ACFFO), said the additional transitory provision will allow
forwarders to source funds to comply with the new requirement,
ACFFO president Edith Muñoz told PortCalls.
“As locally operated forwarders, we have small sources
of funds to immediately comply compared with multinational
firms. This is the very reason we are asking for a downgrade
of the paid-up capital so that small and medium firms may
continue operating,” Muñoz explained.
Previously, the group also sought a cut in the new capital
requirement, as embodied in Administrative Order (AO) No.
6 or the Revised Rules on Freight Forwarding.
“Hopefully, PSB and the Department of Trade and Industry
(DTI) will consider our plight or we only see a handful of
us surviving after January 2008,” she added.
Tomorrow, ACFFO will meet with representatives of the PSB,
DTI and the Philippine International Seafreight Forwarders
Association to discuss its proposal.
In January 2006, the PSB increased the capital requirement
for existing and new players in the freight forwarding business
to eliminate fly-by-night companies.
The new requirement for non-vessel operating common carriers
is P4 million from the previous P500,000.
Early this year, the PSB deferred implementation of the requirement
to January 2008 from January 2007 to give a DTI-created task
force time to study the accreditation process for forwarders.
The move is also consistent with transitory provisions of
AO 6 which took effect January 2, 2007. AO 6 provides that
compliance with the capitalitalization requirement under Section
4 (A)2 shall be made within two years from the ruling’s
date of effectivity.
HARBOUR Centre Port Terminals, Inc. (HCPTI)
is pushing through with its overseas foray next year following
the listing of its holding company, Harbour Centre Port Holdings
Inc, at the stock exchange.
The listing in either January or February 2008 is expected
to raise between P1.5 billion and P2 billion to finance port
projects. All of the group’s future terminal assets
will be under the holding company.
HCPTI chief executive Michael Romero said the company has
already forged agreements with local and foreign firms to
bolster its overseas expansion moves particularly in Asia
and the Middle East.
It is looking at seven ports in the two regions as well as
a US territory port to operate and manage. Specifically, it
is eyeing China, Brunei, Indonesia, Guam, Papua New Guinea,
Iran and Kuwait.
HCPTI, a relatively new player in port operations with roughly
10 years in the business, is the only private terminal operator
at the port of Manila not yet listed at the stock exchange.
Its operations are limited to bulk cargo handling. Containerized
handling is the exclusive domain of listed companies International
Container Terminal Services, Inc., which operates the Manila
International Container Terminal, and Asian Terminals, Inc.,
partly owned by Dubai Ports World, which operates the Manila
South Harbor.
Since last year, HCPTI has been vocal about wanting to expand
operations into other areas. It was one of the first companies
to signify interest in the soon-to-be privatized North Harbor,
currently operated by the Philippine Ports Authority.
HCPTI has teamed up with Metro Pacific Investments Corp. to
bid for the 25-year contract of the North Harbor, one of country’s
biggest domestic terminals.
This bid has turned controversial as Home Guaranty Corp. (HGC),
an HCPTI shareholder, accused the terminal operator of non-consultation
when it decided to bid for the contract.
The case is pending before the Securities and Exchange Commission.
HCPTI said it will file at least 15 cases to counter HGC’s
allegations.
COA tells PPA: ATI South Harbor commitments may be short
THE Commission on Audit (COA) wants to make
sure South Harbor operator Asian Terminals, Inc. (ATI) has
delivered on its commitments to a contract which will expire
on 2013.
The commission has asked the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA)
to list all ATI investments at the South Harbor.
In its latest report, COA claimed ATI’s completed infrastruc-ture
develop-ments as of end-2005 are only valued at $45.66 million,
or just a fraction of the $300 million the company promised
PPA when it was negotiating for an extension of its present
contract.
The completed structures include the $2.065-million passenger
terminal building, the $1.461-million ATI administration building,
and the $11.503-million container yard development.
It said PPA should document all infrastructure projects implemented
by ATI and periodically conduct inventory of all properties
and equipment for turnover to the PPA when the ATI contract
is terminated.
The port agency should also list in its books all ATI investments.
COA said PPA’s financial statement on the revenue and
property and equipment account balances could be understated
by at least P2.34 billion, representing the peso equivalent
of ATI investments in the terminal as of 2005.
In 1992, the PPA and ATI entered into a contract for the management
of the South Harbor for 15 years. In 1998, ATI’s contract
was extended to 2013 with the company committing $300 million
in additional investments. This involved, among others, the
rehabilitation, development and expansion of port facilities,
purchase of equipment, and conduct of master plan and feasibility
study for South Harbor which shall be jointly reviewed every
two years and revised, if necessary.
According to the contract, all equipment listed in the 1998
supplemental contract should be transferred to the PPA by
2013.
Three years after its passage, RA 9295 up for review
THE Maritime Industry Authority (Marina)
wants to review implementing guidelines of Republic Act 9295
or the Domestic Shipping Development Act of 2004 to make the
law more attractive to investors.
The review will correct defects of the law that have arisen
as a result of changes in the country’s economic structure
in the last three years, and make vague provisions such as
those on compulsory cargo insurance clearer, according to
Marina senior officer for planning and policy office and concurrent
deputy administrator for operations Maria Teresa Mamisao.
According to Marina, compulsory insurance should cover vessel
operators and not cargo.
Marina will conduct all over the country public consultation
on the amendments to the IRR.
A Marina technical working group has already prepared a 20-page
amendment to the guidelines.
RA 9295 was passed to help modernize the country’s shipping
fleet and shipbuilding industry.
The law offers a ten-year tax exemption to operators who will
introduce new vessels provided these qualify under a set age
limit. For passenger and cargo vessels, the limit is 15 years;
for tankers, 10 years; and for high-speed passenger craft,
five years.
RA 9295 also exempts the shipbuilding and ship repair industries
from paying value-added tax on imports of capital equipment,
machinery, spare parts, steel plates and other metal plates
for use in the construction, repair, renovation or alteration
of any merchant marine vessel operated or to be operated in
the domestic trade
THE Department of Transportation and Communications
is reviving a proposal to create the National Transportation
Safety Board (NTSB), a body that will handle all transportion-related
accidents.
At the sidelines of a Marina Board meeting, Transport Secretary
Leandro Mendoza said the autonomous NTSB will be tasked to
determine the cause of accidents and will be empowered to
sanction even government officials found liable for the accident.
He said the creation of the NTSB would lessen chances of a
“whitewashing” aside from expediting the handling
of accident investigations and lessening the incidence of
corruption.
Earlier, the Maritime Industry Authority expressed interest
in the creation of an NTSB to address recurring maritime problems.
Last year, the Senate deliberated on at least three bills
to promote safety of the commuting public and to improve the
local transportation system, but these were later shelved.
These bills are Senate Bill (SB) 780 or the Sea and Air Transport
Safety Act; S.B. 783 or the Transportation Safety Act; and
S.B. 779 or the Railroad Safety Act.
S.B. 780 hopes to penalize operators of ships and aircraft
that disregard travel warnings especially during rough weather
conditions.
S.B. 783 recommends the creation of an NTSB, which shall be
an independent, non-regulatory agency that would conduct thorough
and impartial investigation of transportation accidents.
