EXEMPT OF SPEECH BY MR TEO SIONG SENG
MANAGING DIRECTOR
PACIFIC INTERNATIONAL LINES (PTE) LTD
AT MOU SIGNING CEREMONY
ON 12 OCTOBER 2009, 12.15PM
IN LAGOS, NIGERIA
Distinguished guests, Colleagues, Ladies and Gentlemen
May I welcome you to the MOU Signing Ceremony and lunch sponsored by Pacific International Lines – Nigeria .
I am wearing two hats at this particular function. One is in the capacity of the President of the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce & Industry (SCCCI), and the other is in the capacity of Managing Director of Pacific International Lines. SCCCI is the oldest ethnic Chamber in Singapore with a long and illustrious history of 103 years. Our network consists of 4,000 corporate and individual members across all commerce and industry sectors, 132 trade association members, bringing our indirect membership to 35,000 members. Our core mission is to represent the interests of the local business community and to help promote their business in Singapore and overseas markets. This is SCCCI’s very first business mission to Nigeria.
Four months ago, when SCCCI decided to send a mission to Africa there were some discussion as to which countries in this vast continent would present the most exciting possibilities. The African market is one which we see as being a major growth area in the future. And we believe Nigeria will contribute greatly to this phenomenal growth. Thus, I was very happy to endorse Nigeria as one of the destinations for the mission.
PIL began its current service to Lagos, Nigeria in 2000. In August 2007 we opened our own agency in Nigeria and now employ 60 staff. I am pleased to confirm that the business is successful. Our commitment to the trade continues to grow. Starting end of this month, we will add the port of Onne in the eastern part of the country to our service network. We hope to be able to support our friends at Indorama whose factory is close to Onne, providing them with sailings worldwide for their exports.
Beyond this we have identified the need to improve landside infrastructure that will enable importers to take delivery of their cargo faster and more cheaply. This is where we are pleased to introduce our latest project, Stellar Bonded Terminal, which we are undertaking in association with our long term strategic partner in Nigeria, Hull Blyth.
The Memorandum Of Understanding that we will be signing today is the next stage towards the realisation of this project. I am pleased to advise that we have had much encouragement from the Honourable Minister of Transport and the Governor of Ogun State where the depot is to be located. We thank the Managing Director of Nigerian Railways Corporation for his support and commitment to make the rail connectivity a successful and efficient option for the future of container shipments through Nigeria and beyond.
I would also like to express my deepest appreciation to Minister Lee Yi Shyan for taking time off from their busy schedule to grace us with their presence during this MOU Signing Ceremony.
With such strong support from the Nigeria Authority, guidance from our Government especially IE Singapore, support from our customers, good partnership with Hull Blyth, PIL is confident that the Stella Bonded Terminal which is our first land based investment in Africa will be a success. This marks the 1st of our many other future land based investment projects in Africa.