Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Fedex relocation greatly affects Subic Bay (11:02 a.m.)
MANILA -- The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) is looking for new investors to occupy the US military base area vacated by the Federal Express (Fedex), which is relocating to China.
SBMA Administrator Armand Arreza admitted that the firm's decision to leave the country would have an impact not only to SBMA but also with the companies who are supporting Fedex operations.
"It will definitely have a huge impact to SBMA, as it would mean losses in landing fees, among other, it will also lead to the displacement of many workers," Arreza said.
He said the international courier company contributes about P180 million a year for SBMA in terms of rentals.
Fedex will relocate to Guangzhou, China, as its Asia Pacific hub, which has 80,000 square meters of floor space seated in the 63,000 hectares of land, its biggest facility outside the mainland USA.
The company, however, does not totally abandon the country, as it will be maintaining its operations in the country through Air 21.
Arreza said they are currently having talks with two international courier companies to occupy the space of Fedex.
One of which is UPS, another cargo handler with international operations.
Fedex, which has annual revenues of US$36 billion, provides customers and businesses worldwide with a broad portfolio of transportation, e-commerce and business services.
Meanwhile, Fedex International Economy is currently in the process of expanding its service portfolio in 10 Asia Pacific markets -- Australia, mainland China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, Taiwan, and Thailand, according to Fedex.
The service will also be available in Indonesia, Philippines, and Vietnam in March.
Fedex said the Fedex International Economy service is geared for small shippers with less urgent shipments of individual packages under 68 kilograms-or just less that 150 pounds.
Fedex International Economy normally delivers intra-Asia packages in two business days, and shipments to the US and major markets in Europe typically in three to four business days. (FP/Sunnex) |
