Developments

As the port of Penang undertakes the biggest expansion in its history it is employing worlds best practices to ensure the reliability and efficiency of the craneage system on which its cargo handling depends. PenangPort has ongoing maintenance arrangements with the global Konecranes Group to service its ship-to-shore cranes as it invests RM 1.10 billion ($US340 million) from 2007-2012 to expand  elevate its status to a main line port capable of handling more than a million TEUs a year. (Twenty foot Equivalent Units, TEUs, a year). The nine existing ship-to-shore cranes Ð with three electric overhead travelling (EOT) maintenance cranes for which Konecranes is also responsible at North Butterworth Container Terminal Ð are integral to the port’s performance as it aims to ultimately achieve crane productivity of 30 TEUs an hour. Another seven ship-to-shore cranes are scheduled for delivery by the end of this year, with service and parts supply also provided by Konecranes through its nearby Singapore headquarters and worldwide network of 485 locations in 43 countries with more than 366,000 cranes of all brands under service contracts. The current NBCT expansion Phase 3 consists of Segment A1 and A2. Segment A1 involved the extension of a new 600 metre berth at the Northern end of the existing 900 metre wharf. Segment A2 involved the construction of a 771 metre length of stacking area for export containers behind the wharf. The stacking area is capable of handling 465,000 TEUs with 2640 ground slots. The total investment of this project inclusive of the handling equipment is about RM900 million. “We are a 24/7,365 days a year operation, so prompt and reliable service of cranes of all brands is very important to us,” says PenangPort Senior Maintenance Engineer, Engineering Services Ð SBU Container Services, Muhammad Asri Bin Md Isa. “It is […]

Despite the average of Singaporean holding many financial products, only a few of these are with their main financial institution (MFI). According to a report by the independent business analyst Datamonitor, this provides a great growth opportunity for retail banks to derive revenue from customers through product bundling offers and incentives that will create a win-win situation for financial service providers and consumers. “An average Singaporean holds a huge number of financial products, especially on credit cards. Indeed, 80% of customers have at least one credit card and 42% of them hold three or more” comments Harry Senlitonga, senior analyst at Datamonitor. Consumer demands and many attractive offers from card providers, such as credit card exclusive discount offers have caused diverse credit card product holding in Singapore. As its name suggests, exclusive discount offers provide cardholders with exclusive accesses to product or service discounts on specific retail outlets. “Credit card exclusive discounts offers have been proven as an effective acquisition method with the side effect that many Singaporeans now have more cards in their wallet than before. As a result, the main financial institutions of these customers are missing out on the potential to increase revenue per customer” says Harry based in Sydney. Financial institutions should therefore revisit their approach to consumers. Indeed, Datamonitor believes that product bundling offers, which have been successful in many other countries, will help strengthen MFI relationships with customers. “A low product holding within the MFI shows cross-selling still offers plenty of growth opportunities for Singaporean financial providers. Incentive schemes aiming to encourage multiple product uptakes within the same institution may create a win-win scenario for both financial service providers and consumers” concludes Harry.