In line with the trend of globalisation, PSA ventured overseas with its first overseas port project in Dalian , China , in 1996. By the start of 2002, it owned and operated port projects in countries as diverse as China , India , Italy , Portugal , South Korea and Singapore .
PSA took a giant step forward in its drive to become a global port operator in 2002. During that year, PSA bought stakes in Belgium 's Antwerp and Zeebrugge terminals which came to be known as Hesse-Noord Natie (PSA HNN).
In order to ensure its long-term competitiveness, PSA started a series of key initiatives to transform itself into a global terminal operator. It divested non-core businesses, and adopted a leaner and more flexible cost structure. It also re-organised and put in place a new global management structure to be able to grow its core business in port management globally and respond more quickly to a rapidly changing business world.
Then in December 2003, PSA adopted a new corporate structure with PSA International Pte Ltd becoming the main holding company for the PSA Group of companies. This provides greater strategic, financial and management flexibility in organizing PSA's operations, and implementing its strategy to expand globally. As steward for all the PSA companies around the world, PSA International ensures that the companies in the PSA Group work together seamlessly to create synergies and enhance value for the Group.
Since then, PSA has expanded its global footprint to include projects in Japan , Thailand and Hong Kong .
PSA is today one of the leading port operators in the world, with a global network of 26 port projects in 15 countries across Asia, Europe and the Americas handling about 51 MTEUs.
ACTIVATING OFFSHORE BUSINESSES
PSA is the world's largest port group based on equity-weighted throughput. That means, when the total throughput figures in 2006 are adjusted to reflect the level of shareholdings in individual terminals held by global operators, PSA handles about 41.2 million Twenty Foot Equivalent Units or TEUs.
Last year, our group revenue was about S$3.7 billion, or about RMB 19 billion (US$2.5 billion).
Everyday, we handle about 140,500 TEUs world wide, or about 100 containers per minute.
And we employ about 21,000 staff around the world, out of whom, about 12,000 are directly employed by PSA.
When PSA first corporatized in 1997, only about five percent of its throughput was accounted for by its investments in terminals outside of its headquarters in Singapore .
Last year, for the first time, the volume of containers handled by our forays outside of Singapore overtook that of our home base operations in Singapore . As PSA's overseas expansion gathered pace, our overseas units handled a record 27.3 million TEUs last year, 14 percent more than the 24 million TEUs moved at our headquarters in Singapore.
In the last ten months, PSA has added 6 new port projects in 4 countries to our portfolio of ports. Today, our ports span Asia, Europe and the Americas.
BUILDING WORLD CLASS PORTS
In Europe, we currently have eight projects in Belgium , the Netherlands , Italy , Portugal , United Kingdom and Turkey .
PSA HNN is the container gateway to Europe , with excellent transhipment and hinterland connections for rail, road, barge and short-sea vessels. PSA HNN is connected to 800 destinations worldwide through 300 regular services, and it operates five container terminals in Antwerp , a three berth container facility at Zeebrugge, and a barge terminal in Rotterdam .
(October 25,2007)
