DHL to invest US$300m in Asia in near future

DHL to invest US$300m in Asia in near future

Dow Jones, Singapore

DHL, a U.S. delivery company, will invest over US$300 million in Asia over the next few years to boost its infrastructure, vehicle fleet and workforce in its fastest growing market, Chief Executive Uwe Doerken said Wednesday.

"We've a wonderful business here and we want to grow it... Asia's still the best growing region in the world" as a manufacturing and business base, he said.

The rise of consumer affluence in the region would also potentially play a big part in growing DHL's business in the longer term, he added.

Doerken was speaking at the opening of DHL's Singapore transshipment hub - its largest in the Asia-Pacific, built to handle up to 180,000 metric tons of shipments a year.

DHL has pledged to spend US$34 million over the next ten years to equip and operate the hub, which was built by Singapore Airport Terminal Services Ltd. or SATS.

SATS is a unit of Singapore Airlines Ltd..

Cargo volume handled by DHL in Asia grew about 10 percent this year, just as volumes in the U.S. and Europe have each fallen or grown at a reduced rate, particularly after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the U.S., Doerken said.

"(The events of) Sept. 11, or even more broadly, the economic downturn that was already visible before Sept. 11 this year, has impacted our business," he said.

"DHL is still a healthy and well-growing business, particularly in Asia. But yes, in the U.S, we're seeing some drop, and in Europe, a slower growth rate," he added.

DHL's other investment plans for Asia include expansion plans for Japan and China, and a potential impending bid for a possible local hub facility in Hong Kong, the company's intra-Asian hub, Doerken said.

Money would also go toward upgrading infrastructure in the various countries in the region, starting with India and the Philippines next year, he added.

DHL currently doesn't own its own aircraft network in Asia, but any such plans would most likely take the form of a joint- venture with a local airline, Doerken also said.