Shanghai is set to overtake Singapore as the world's busiest port next year as the Chinese economy continues with its stellar growth, an executive of the city-state's port operator said in remarks published yesterday.
Flourishing global trade has enabled Singapore terminals to handle a record number of shipping containers last month, but volumes in Shanghai are growing faster, Kuah Boon Wee (柯文偉), chief executive of PSA for Southeast Asia and Singapore, told the Straits Times.
"It's a function of their growth and China's exports are surging," Kuah said. "But even if we're not No. 1, we will still be a significant player in world trade."
Chinese state media said last month that Shanghai has overtaken Hong Kong to become the world's second-largest container port in the first quarter as containers handled rose 28.1 percent from a year ago.
In the first three months of the year, Shanghai Port processed 5.9 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) while Hong Kong handled about 5.5 million TEUs during the same period, up 2.3 percent from a year earlier.
Shanghai Port had been the third-biggest container port worldwide after Singapore and Hong Kong since the end of 2003. Its container throughput capacity has kept a growth rate of over 20 percent in the past three years.
Kuah said PSA Singapore Terminals moved a record 2.28 million containers last month on the back of robust global trade.
In the first five months of the year, PSA handled 10.79 million containers in Singapore, up 14.42 percent over last year, he said.
"Areas such as Eastern Europe, the Baltic area, the Middle East and of course China, all showed strong growth in trade this year," he said. "We have been working very hard to find ways to help customers make incremental growth in their business so that they will continue to increase their volumes here."
PSA Singapore Terminals is the flagship terminal of PSA International which is owned by state-linked Singapore investment firm Temasek Holdings.
PSA International handled record container volumes of 51.29 million TEUs last year, 18.6 percent more than in 2005. Its Singapore terminals handled 23.98 million TEUs last year.
Meanwhile, Kaohsiung Harbor is expected to drop from No. 6 to No. 8 this year, the Chinese-language Commercial Times reported yesterday, citing Hsieh Ming-hui (謝明輝), director of the Kaohsiung Harbor.
Kaohsiung is currently the world's sixth busiest container port, but is likely to be overtaken by Rotterdam and Dubai this year, he said.
Between January and April, Kaohsiung's container volume grew 4.59 percent year-on-year, compared to the 10 percent and 23 percent growth of Rotterdam Port and Dubai Port respectively, Hsieh said.
Some industry analysts have blamed Taiwan's five-decade ban on direct sea links with China for the fallen container volume, but the government said it cannot lift the ban for national security reasons.
Additional reporting by DPA
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique