The 8th India Shipping Summit 2012, held in Mumbai from Oct. 8 to 10, witnessed an august, enthusiastic and a high profile gathering that marked the success of the event. From the welcome reception on Oct. 8 attended by more than 150 of the industry’s key decision makers and stakeholders to the mind stimulating conference, it was indeed a strong showing from the industry, in spite of the market downturn.The main conference programme that commenced on Oct. 9 examined the unique challenges facing India’s maritime industry and exploring the country’s ambitions and what’s realistically achievable. More than 280 top executives from the shipping industry attended the conferences and actively participated in the debates and discussions on various topical and pivotal issues.
A powerful line-up of high-level international and Indian participants inaugurated the summit which included names of Mr. S. Hajara, Chairman and Managing Director, The Shipping Corporation of India Ltd; Mr. Philippe Louis-Dreyfus, President, Louis Dreyfus Armateurs; Mr. Jamal Majid Bin Thannah, Vice-Chairman, DP World & Group CEO, Port & Free Zone World and Mr. Yudhishthir Khatau, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, Varun Shipping Company Ltd., who were accompanied by Mr. Chris Hayman, Chairman, Seatrade, and Mr. Narendra Taneja, the event convenor.
Addressing the inaugural session Mr. Hajara said: “Although dry bulk will take longer to recover, if China comes back on track and the US maintains its current course, a recovery in other sectors could begin in mid 2013.”
Outlining his thoughts about India’s economic position from the global perspective, he stated: “The world cannot ignore China and India, as the majority of the world’s coal demand will come from these two nations in the next few years. Emerging economies cannot be suppressed much longer.” Mr. Hajara also strongly felt that while billions have been spent on Indian rail and road development since independence, not much has been done to elevate the shipping structure.
Mr. Philippe Louis-Dreyfus provided an ‘outside’ view of India. He went on to highlight some of the key areas where he feels the country has high potential. “India is well known for IT services then why shouldn’t it be known as a “high value added services” provider in shipping,” he argued. By value added services he meant cabling, seismic, specialised cargo carrying and so on.
He also dwelt upon issues like the need for single window clearance, long-term finance for equity and loans and social peace in order to attract foreign investments in India. He also felt that European partners could play a vital role in India’s development, joining together strong skill sets from both the sides, with references to India’s strong seafaring skills sets.
Speaking from a global viewpoint, Mr. Jamal Majid Bin Thannah predicted that there will be a new dimension and structure to world trade in the short to medium future, as the advanced economies compete with the emerging markets. We will see an emergence of new hubs and new shipping lines – and Asia and India will be where the growth is over the next 30 years. “India, China and Brazil will take over the current prime markets,” he stated.
Mr. Narendra Taneja pointed out that there were enormous market growth opportunities ahead, with “400 million people in India currently without any electricity and 700 million people who don’t have good energy access.” In his view, the biggest challenge for India today is the conflict between the old fashioned socialists and the reformists where, in the present situation, the former has an upper edge due to which areas like energy, IT and overall economy are suffering.
He said India’s maritime industry ranks in the top two industries limping due to the orthodox thinkers. For example, he said, India has the potential to become a leader in ship building, but the Government has failed to provide the required incentives. “India is suffering from policy paralysis. However, with the Government now taking measures to boost the maritime industry, the overall picture seems to be looking great,” Mr. Taneja stressed.
Mr. Yudhishthir Khatau aptly summed up the pivotal elements of the shipping market.
He sees the industry as having three vital ingredients, “the three C’s of shipping, Cargo, Capability and Capital”. He went on to say that in cargo “India is a tremendous source for cargo for the world together with future energy growth potential.”
In the second of the C’s, “the country’s capability can be seen in its history and in its seafarer resource. India’s global share of seafarers has risen from 3% to 6% last year.”
However, when it comes to capital, he conceded that the country is not well placed. The cost of debt has become more expensive and is not the best country for financial capital.
The summit steeped back to take a reality check on each of the key maritime sectors. The other sessions, with strong speaker-line ups, were:
What are the implications to shipping of a slower rate of growth in India?
Feeding India’s ever-growing need for energy.
Indian Shipping and Maritime Agenda: Roadmap for Future
Foreign investments in India’s infrastructure
Human resources
India’s ship building ambitions and opportunities
It was certainly an interesting two days listening to global industry leaders coming together in Mumbai in search of opportunities and new strategies in today’s difficult operating conditions.
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