DHL Danzas to expand RI market

DHL Danzas to expand RI market

Fitri Wulandari, Singapore

DHL Danzas Air and Ocean (DHL Danzas), the global freight
provider and logistics arm of DHL, plans to set up more
facilities in Indonesia by the end of the year to gain from the
nation's improving economy and increased trade within Southeast
Asia.

"Indonesia is a very interesting market. We would like to take
full advantage of the Indonesian market," DHL Danzas Asia Pacific
Chief Executive Officer Peter Lansiedel told The Jakarta Post and
Bisnis Indonesia on Monday.

DHL Danzas' core business is in freight and container
shipments above 250 kilograms. Along with DHL Worldwide Express,
DHL Danzas is part of the DHL group, which is now fully owned by
Deutsche Post World Net.

Lansiedel said the company planned to open four new offices
and logistics centers for air and ocean freight by the end of
this year, but he declined to provide details on the location and
estimated investment for the new facilities, DHL Danzas claims to
have invested US$2.1 million in Indonesia over the past four
years.

The company, which is represented by local partner PT Danzas
Sarana Perkasa, now operates five logistics centers with a
combined warehouse capacity of 2,000 square meters: in Jakarta;
Surabaya, East Java; Denpasar, Bali; Balikpapan, East Kalimantan;
and Batam. The newest is the Balikpapan center, which opened last
month.

All centers are jointly operated by DHL Danzas and DHL
Express, which is represented in Indonesia by PT Birotika
Semesta.

Landsiedel said the company expected its overall business in
Indonesia to grow between 6 to 9 percent this year.

"I trust the political environment and economic situation will
stabilize. Our projected overall development is very good. We are
not worried that the economy will perform poorly," he said.

The government expects the economy to grow by 4.8 percent this
year, as the recent peaceful elections has boosted business
confidence in the country.

Landsiedel also said the implementation of the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations Free Trade Agreement (AFTA) was providing
ample opportunities for further expansion in Indonesia as well as
the region.

Last year, the company transported 17,000 air shipments
weighing 7,000 tons and about 11,000 ocean freight shipments
totaling 14,000 20-foot equivalent units (TEU).

DHL Danzas has more than 2,000 active clients in Indonesia.

According to the company, Indonesia's total air freight volume
reached 466,000 tons in 2003 and grew by 12.2 percent on-year in
the first quarter of 2004, while ocean freight volume stood at
3.1 million TEUs in 2003.