ASIA MIDDLEEAST AFRICA AMERICAS EUROPE worldnews
New Logistics
Infrastructure for
Silk Route
Anew report from the Asia De- velopment Bank (ADB) says the stablishment of efficient and
cost-competitive transportation and logistics services will help governments stimulate economic activity in the Central Asia
Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC)
area.
Haruhiko Kuroda, president of the ADB
said, “Increased investment and cooperation will make possible the establishment of competitive and viable transport
corridors between the dynamic, growing
economies of the East and West.”
The ADB report identifies the logistics challenges of the CAREC members
— Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, the People’s
Republic of China (including the autonomous regions of Inner Mongolia and
Xinjiang Uygur), Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz
Republic, Mongolia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
The report recommends an infrastructure national master plan with private
sector participation and investment to encourage build-operate-transfer schemes.
Closer cooperation, more initiatives to
resolve cross border trade issues and harmonization of Customs procedures and
inspection standards are also proposed.
The ADB notes that some of the key
constraints to the development of an efficient transport network include difficult
terrain, poor or underdeveloped infrastructure and government policies that
impede private investment.
The logistics sector is characterized by
intense competition among many small
companies that are financially weak and
limited in the services they offer. The
reports also notes that trade between
CAREC members and with the rest of the
world is limited by cumbersome and non-harmonized customs procedures, while
cross border trade in the region is hampered by different inspection standards
and “unofficial payments” at borders and
along routes. ACW
JAL Faces Slice And Dice
Probably the only reassur- ing message Japan Airlines has had recently is that its demise is not an option. In what form it will survive is
very much open at the moment.
Having lost $1 billion in the most
recent quarter and burdened by
massive debt, management has tried
to secure loans amounting to 250
trillion yen ($2.77 billion) to make
it through the current fiscal year,
which ends on March 31, 2010.
The government had earlier on
given its backing for a 100 billion yen
loan ($110 million) but is still mulling over its options in the face of the
new request.
The struggling airline is headed
for its fifth annual loss in seven years
and has been dubbed “Japan’s GM”
by some in the Japanese investment
community. It is burdened with
debts of around 800 billion ($8.7 billion) yen, not counting 300 billion
yen ($3.3 billion) in aircraft lease
obligations and 330 billion yen ($3.6
billion) in pension liabilities.
In support of its plea for additional
support, JAL management presented
a restructuring plan aimed at cutting operating costs by 30 percent to
the government. It envisages cutting
50 unprofitable routes, including
21 international sectors. However,
the new transport minister rejected
the plan, arguing that it did not go
far enough. He has appointed a task
force that had until the end of November to come up with recommendations on how the carrier should be
restructured.
JAL investors have been clamoring for drastic cuts. They want the
company divided into profitable
and unprofitable parts, with the unprofitable parts to be hived off. JAL
management has rejected such an
approach, but the government task
force has signaled that this would be
