More than 12,000 maritime professionals & decision-makers expected to congregate in Singapore

Global container trades are stabilising and the expansion of Asian economies will be the key to trade growth in the future, a senior industry executive said.

Mr Eng Aik Meng, President of APL, said that economic growth across the Asian region, led by China, will play a significant role in the health of the container shipping markets in the foreseeable future.

He noted, "Economic activity in China has rebounded to levels not seen since the Lehman Brothers’ collapse, which led to the global recession. The strength of China's economy and the robust growth of the economies in South-East Asia will open up exciting new markets for container shipping operators."

He was speaking at a press conference hosted by Seatrade and the Singapore Maritime Foundation (SMF), co-organisers of Sea Asia 2011, which will run for three days from April 12-14 at Marina Bay Sands® in Singapore.

He will be one of the speakers at the opening day’s Container Shipping and Logistics session, which will be chaired by Mr S. S. Teo, Managing Director of Pacific International Lines (PIL) and President of the Singapore Shipping Association.

Mr Eng said that while the Asian economies were robust, the container sector itself had issues which it had to tackle to ensure its long-term health. These include rising costs and the challenge of meeting service delivery expectations in an era of lengthening supply chains.

There was a need to continue promoting the maritime sector across the region and boosting human resources for the right level of expertise and experience to handle growth efficiently, he said.

He predicted growth in the intra-Asia trades and increased competition among container carriers.

The central theme of Sea Asia, The Asian Voice in World Shipping, will be further projected in the event's other conference sessions led by top executives of leading international companies from Asia as well as Europe and other areas.

As Sea Asia delivers an optimistic message to the international maritime community, now recovering from the global economic crisis, the organisers have reported satisfaction with the event's continued growth and reputation. "Sea Asia is recognised not only as a platform for the exchange of knowledge and opinion, but as a recovery tool for sales and marketing teams seeking to expand customer bases. Its value is underscored by the strong support we have from the international shipping industry," said Mr Chris Hayman, Chairman of Seatrade.

More than 95 per cent of the exhibition space has already been booked by maritime, shipping and offshore-related companies and the organisers confidently expect to surpass the numbers of the last Sea Asia, when over 10,000 executives from 62 countries came for the three-day event.

"Through Sea Asia, we hope to be the focal point for the global maritime community to congregate in Singapore and, most importantly, provide the platform for Asian maritime leaders to share their insightful perspectives on the various aspects of the maritime business with the world. We certainly hope to make Sea Asia the iconic maritime show of Singapore," said Mr Michael Chia, Chairman of SMF, Exim News Service reports.