MEL IN THE PRESS

Cover Story
Fairplay International Shipping Weekly
November 6, 2003

Hutchison Port Holdings (HPH) finds home in Holland

Business should be a private affair, says ECT president Richard Pearson

“IT IS A SOCIALIST or communist view that only the government should invest in infrastructure,” says Richard C Pearson, president of Rotterdam’s Europe Container Terminals (ECT) and also MD of Hutchison Ports (UK). “Why should I as a taxpayer want my government to spend my money on industries that can support themselves?
“I think there is room for private investment in the [Rotterdam port expansion project] Maasvlakte II in a controlled way. It does not rule out competition,” Pearson told Fairplay after last week’s graduation ceremony for the Class of 2003 M.Sc in Maritime Economics and Logistics at Erasmus University Rotterdam.
Pearson and Willem Scholten, MD of Rotterdam Municipal Port Management, were keynote speakers. Pearson suggested his opinion may have been formed during his years in Hong Kong, which he calls “a true private enterprise with a minimum of governmental interference”.
Hutchison Port Holdings (HPH) has had dealings with the Dutch government, and Pearson praises its businesslike approach. “It’s a good thing for Holland, as such an approach provides a better ability to talk to investors.
“You find the same attitude in local authorities. Rotterdam lost market share, and we discussed what could be done about that in meetings with the authorities. Today, its performance has improved. The openness of the Netherlands attracts other investors as well. Hutchison Whampoa bought [Dutch chemicals chain] Kruidvat a year ago, and that’s just one example.”
HPH’s policy is to re-invest in its enterprises when profits allow. According to Pearson, stevedoring rates are so low that proper investment in facilities and expansion is not possible. “It’s time our sector talked about fair prices. I agree that shipping lines have enormous problems, and that they have to be tough on us. But we can only try to render services at a certain level when a fair price is paid”.

@Lloyd's Register- Fairplay Ltd. 1996-2003