The new investment agreement was signed on 28 March in Shanghai by Mr Qiu Jinguang, Managing Director, COSCO Pacific and Mr Ong Kim Pong, Regional CEO Southeast Asia, PSA International. The ceremony was witnessed by Mr He Jianzhong, Vice Minister, Ministry of Transport, China; Mrs Josephine Teo, Senior Minister of State, Prime Minister’s Office, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Transport, Singapore; Mr Xu Lirong, Chairman, China COSCO Shipping; Mr Wan Min, President, China COSCO Shipping and Mr Tan Chong Meng, Group CEO, PSA International.

CPT was inaugurated in 2003 to establish a joint venture terminal at PSA’s Pasir Panjang Terminal (PPT) Phase 1. To stay ahead of evolving industry needs, CPT will move from its current two-berth terminal to three new mega berths at PPT’s Phases 3 and 4.

When the new berths begin operations from 2017, they will be fully integrated with PSA’s best-in-class infrastructure and supported by the latest automated and intelligent port technologies. These will help to raise port productivity and enhance PSA’s ability to manage greater business complexity for the benefit of its customers.

Mrs Josephine Teo, Senior Minister of State, Prime Minister’s Office, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Transport, said, “I am pleased to see the deepening partnership between COSCO Pacific and PSA. The investment in three new mega berths is strategically important to both partners and also a clear demonstration of their confidence in Singapore as an international maritime centre with a well-connected transhipment hub. In addition, I believe the project will contribute positively to China’s Maritime Silk Road initiative and ‘One Belt, One Road’ vision.”

Mr Tan Chong Meng, Group CEO, PSA International, said, “Today’s signing marks a new chapter in our partnership with COSCO Pacific, which is timely given the merger of the COSCO and China Shipping groups to create the world’s fourth largest container shipping line. We are deeply honoured that they have chosen PSA as their main hub port for container transhipment in Southeast Asia and greatly look forward to working alongside them in Singapore to serve this vibrant region and beyond; and to facilitate the potential growth in trade and economic activities promised by the ‘One Belt, One Road’ initiative.”

Mr Ong Kim Pong, Regional CEO Southeast Asia, PSA International, said, “COSCO Pacific was PSA’s first joint venture partner in Singapore and we have shared many years of close collaboration between us. We remain grateful for their continued support and confidence in PSA, through co-investing in three berths at our latest Pasir Panjang expansion, which has the capacity and scale of operations to better serve the shipping alliances and their mega vessels in this region. We will strive to help them grow their strategic presence in Singapore for the long term.”

The new Business, Innovation and Technology Centre in Ljungby, Sweden would focus on strengthening Kalmar’s expertise in digital business development, research and development, prototype production and testing of mobile equipment. Additionally, Kalmar is planning to launch a digital business development program in collaboration with Linneaus University in Southern Sweden.

According to the plans, the forklift truck production that is currently located in Lidhult, Sweden would be transferred to Kalmar’s assembly operations in Stargard, Poland. The transfer would take approximately two years and lead to the gradual closing of the operations in Lidhult. To implement the plans, Kalmar begins negotiations with the labour unions. Approximately 190 employees in Sweden would be affected by the change, and Kalmar will provide them support in competence development and assistance in finding new job opportunities.

“We recognise that this is a difficult time for people in Lidhult. However, we must make sure that we continue to sustain our global leadership position also in the future. We are expecting to gain synergies and strengthen Kalmar’s competitiveness in the global markets with a more cost competitive production setup. At the same time, we will invest in the future by boosting our technological competences to speed up our digital journey,” says Dan Pettersson, Senior Vice President, Mobile Equipment, Kalmar.

“We have a strong heritage in Småland, Sweden. The new Business, Innovation and Technology Centre would create new business and job opportunities especially in the area of digitalisation. In Poland, our plan is to expand the operations at Stargard which would create 200 new jobs in the region,” he continues.

Kalmar employs currently approximately 350 people in Lidhult and Ljungby, Sweden, and approximately 320 people in Poland.