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INTERNATIONAL Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) on Friday
said it won a permit to operate a container terminal in Brunei
Darruslam for four years.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock
Exchange, the port operator said it signed a service agreement and a
hand-over agreement for the operation and maintenance of the Muara
Container Terminal (MCT) in Brunei.
The agreements were signed by Edgardo Abesamis,
ICTSI executive vice president, Manuel de Jesus, ICTSI vice
president for business development and the government of His Majesty
The Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei represented by its Ports
Department Ministry of Communication.
Under these agreements, ICTSI will operate and
maintain MCT for four years, which may be extended for one year at a
time, for a maximum of two years.
MCT has a capacity of 220,000 twenty-foot
equivalents units (TEUs) per year and a total of five hectares. It
has an alongside berth draft of 12.5 meters, container yard of 1295
ground slots, 5,000 square meters modern CFS and 156 reefer points.
The port is located in Muara, which is the main
trade gateway for Brunei Darussalam, in turn situated at the estuary
of the Brunei River about 15 kilometers from the capital, Bandar
Seri Begawan.
Earlier, the port operator signed a $150-million
three-year amortizing loan facility with seven foreign banks.
These banks are The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ
Ltd., Calyon, The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corp. Ltd.,
Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd., Chinatrust
(Philippines) Commercial Bank Corp., Citibank N.A. and Mizuho
Corporate Bank Ltd.
The proceeds of the loan facility will be used
to refinance substantially all of the remaining outstanding balance
of the company’s $250-million revolving and term loan facility due
in December 2010.
The debt refinancing would result in the company
having no substantial debt repayments due until the second half of
2011.
The port operator posted a first-quarter net
income of $11 million, dropping nearly 50 percent from $19.51
million in the same three-month period last year.
Revenues decreased 16 percent from $110.04
million due to lower container volume registered during the period.
ICTSI blamed the drop in net income to the lower
volume brought about by the decline in global trade and the
depreciation of currencies in the countries where its ports are
located.
-- Darwin G. Amojelar
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