Fulfilling a role of trust

Malaysian Business, Apr 16, 2010


NCB Holding Berhad plays a vital role in the nation's development through logistical excellence.

NCB HOLDINGS BHD (NCB) IS A LISTED investment holding company in which PNB and other unit trust funds that it manages collectively hold majority interest of more than 56%.

The value drivers for the NCB Group of companies are two wholly- owned subsidiaries Northport (Malaysia) Bhd, a company involved in the management of port services and the allied back-up activities and Kontena Nasional Berhad, a company engaged in the provision of transportation and logistics service in various manners of description.

Northport was previously known as Klang Container Terminal (KCT). It is a port operating company that operates port services in two locations in Port Klang, one in North Port and another in Southpoint (formerly known as South Port). The entire ordinary shares in Northport are held by NCB. One special share in the company is held by the Minister of Finance Incorporated.

Northport is made up of the combined businesses that were previously operated separately under the KCT and Klang Port Management (KPM). Northport is today an inclusive brand-name that relates directly with the market and offers the full range of activities of ship-to-shore container and cargo transfer, storage and packing/unpacking services within the terminal area as well as the supporting value-adding distripark services provided by the former Port Klang Distribution Park (PKDP), which the NCB Group acquired soon after the operational merger that created Northport. PKDP has been re-named Northport Distripark Sdn Bhd (NDSB).

Northport today runs a full-service port that encompasses both container terminal activities as well as activities of handling conventional cargo. It provides its own marine support services of pilotage and tuggage and is capable of receiving the top-end container vessels that today run services to this part of the world. In terms of growth track record, Northport had risen in stature from what was a quarter million TEU-per-year port when it began operation in 1986 to a port that today services 3 million TEUs per annum. While it handles equally well both containers generated by the indigenous trade of the country and transshipment containers from the neighbouring third-country economies, it is still credited as the main gateway port for Malaysia's import and export trade, handling nearly 60% of the volume of imports and exports in containers passing through Port Klang, the country's main port for domestic trade. Indeed Northport cannot be wrong in calling itself Malaysia's world port.

Kontena Nasional is the company that pioneered the service of hauling containers. It began in a modest way in Port Klang in 1971, with a fleet size of one prime mover and three trailers. It is today fast migrating into the image of a 3rd party logistics services provider (3PL player) with service menus eventually covering in- store logistics, vendor management, last-mile delivery, reverse logistics, e-commerce, etc. Kontena Nasional also has a strong asset base with a vehicle fleet of more than 400 prime movers, warehouse space in excess of 700,000 square feet and more than 3.5 million square feet of open storage space located in its various operating branches. It also has well-developed IT system that supports the logistics solutions that the company offers its various clients.

With the context of the growth of national trade, the role played by the subsidiary companies under NCB represents both a great trust and expectation. In going forward, the challenges for NCB is to provide the crucial strategic leadership for its subsidiaries in term of maintaining their service performance, as much as in the delivery of values its various stakeholders are looking forward to.

"We share the desire to be understood by the investors as much as the lay public about what and who we are so that we can be accurately judged by the various groups. We believe the aim of creating an investment-savvy nation has a lot to do with availability and accuracy of information on investment and related matters to the public and the various interest groups for them to make their judgment calls. We believe we can play a role in this by sharing accurate information about ourselves and appropriately responding to people who have inquiries they want to make."

- DATUK' DR ABDUL SAMAD MOHAMED, GROUP MANAGING DIRECTOR NCB HOLDINGS BHD

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"Fulfilling a role of trust". Malaysian Business. FindArticles.com. 29 Apr, 2010. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn6207/is_20100416/ai_n53329076/