Turkish firm establishes strong foothold in China
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Anatolian Agency
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Haziran 11, 2009 00:00
HONG KONG - Turkish logistics company Barsan makes a leap in China, taking ownership of a warehouse in Hong Kong and establishing a logistics center in Shanghai. The company also completes its investments in Yiwu, a booming trade center.
Barsan Global Logistics, or BGL, a Turkish logistics service provider in global transportation through land, air, sea, rail and multi-modal freight forwarding, bonded and non-bonded warehousing, and stock management, has made a leap in China. BGL took the ownership of its warehouse in Hong Kong, established a logistics center in Shanghai and completed its investment in the trade center Yiwu.
Speaking at a press meeting early this week held at the firm’s logistics center in Hong Kong, Sadık Baydere, board member and director of BGL, said that the firm continued investing to strengthen its global position. BGL, which has invested 150 million euros within the last four years, reaped $400 million in turnover last year, he said. Operating in 12 countries, he firm has 26 logistics centers, he added.
Customer relations
The firm, which offers integrated logistics services, aims to serve by optimizing available resources, he said. Warehousing and stock management services create a difference, he said, adding that the firm’s relations with customers were like partnerships rather than just buy-sell relationships. "Apart from energy, we account for around 12 to 13 percent of the private sector’s foreign trade in the name of our customers," he said, adding, "We aim to become among the large players of global logistics industry by 2020."
Baydere noted that global trade was going through a historical period, but expressed an optimistic outlook for the firm. "The crisis has not scared us. Turkey has undergone local crises before, and such periods are the phases of the most rapid growth for us."
Defining the economic climate as "a significant turn rather than a crisis," he said amelioration would come slow rather than suddenly. Profitability has dropped in logistics, just like in other sectors, he added.
As the first Turkish logistics company to enter the Chinese market in 2000, and the only wholly foreign capital company operating in Hong Kong, the firm has taken three important steps in China, Baydere said.
Firstly, it is partner with Unimar, one of the leading logistics companies of Far East, he said. BGL took the ownership of its offices in Hong Kong and then established a logistics base in Shanghai and completed its investment in the trade center Yiwu, he added. The firm, which established a logistics center in Yuwu to dominate the Central Asian market, prefers expanding in different locations than the areas preferred by most investors, Baydere noted. The office in Hong Kong is in a 25-story building; each story covers around 6,000 square meters and the offices are on the 18th floor and occupy around 3,000 square meters, he said.
Investments in other countries
In a strategic move, BGL decided to take the ownership of all its warehouses and branches abroad 10 years ago, Baydere said. The firm realized this in the United States, Hong Kong, China, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Britain, Hungary and Uzbekistan.
There is different structuring in countries such as Iraq and Russia, where the firm may be involved in investments through local partners, he said. "We are cautious in Russia and the Middle East."
In order to have a voice in the East European market, BGL is a partner of Hungary-based logistics firm Emex Group, said Baydere. It acquired a giant logistics center in New Jersey, the United States, for $5 million, opened offices in Miami and Houston, and aims to set up in San Francisco, Chicago and Los Angeles by the end of the year.
Besides overseas investments, BGL continues operations to establish new logistics centers in the Netherlands, Belgium, Romania, Sweden, India, South Africa, Brazil, Middle East and Turkic Republics.
Speaking at a press meeting early this week held at the firm’s logistics center in Hong Kong, Sadık Baydere, board member and director of BGL, said that the firm continued investing to strengthen its global position. BGL, which has invested 150 million euros within the last four years, reaped $400 million in turnover last year, he said. Operating in 12 countries, he firm has 26 logistics centers, he added.
Customer relations
The firm, which offers integrated logistics services, aims to serve by optimizing available resources, he said. Warehousing and stock management services create a difference, he said, adding that the firm’s relations with customers were like partnerships rather than just buy-sell relationships. "Apart from energy, we account for around 12 to 13 percent of the private sector’s foreign trade in the name of our customers," he said, adding, "We aim to become among the large players of global logistics industry by 2020."
Baydere noted that global trade was going through a historical period, but expressed an optimistic outlook for the firm. "The crisis has not scared us. Turkey has undergone local crises before, and such periods are the phases of the most rapid growth for us."
Defining the economic climate as "a significant turn rather than a crisis," he said amelioration would come slow rather than suddenly. Profitability has dropped in logistics, just like in other sectors, he added.
As the first Turkish logistics company to enter the Chinese market in 2000, and the only wholly foreign capital company operating in Hong Kong, the firm has taken three important steps in China, Baydere said.
Firstly, it is partner with Unimar, one of the leading logistics companies of Far East, he said. BGL took the ownership of its offices in Hong Kong and then established a logistics base in Shanghai and completed its investment in the trade center Yiwu, he added. The firm, which established a logistics center in Yuwu to dominate the Central Asian market, prefers expanding in different locations than the areas preferred by most investors, Baydere noted. The office in Hong Kong is in a 25-story building; each story covers around 6,000 square meters and the offices are on the 18th floor and occupy around 3,000 square meters, he said.
Investments in other countries
In a strategic move, BGL decided to take the ownership of all its warehouses and branches abroad 10 years ago, Baydere said. The firm realized this in the United States, Hong Kong, China, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Britain, Hungary and Uzbekistan.
There is different structuring in countries such as Iraq and Russia, where the firm may be involved in investments through local partners, he said. "We are cautious in Russia and the Middle East."
In order to have a voice in the East European market, BGL is a partner of Hungary-based logistics firm Emex Group, said Baydere. It acquired a giant logistics center in New Jersey, the United States, for $5 million, opened offices in Miami and Houston, and aims to set up in San Francisco, Chicago and Los Angeles by the end of the year.
Besides overseas investments, BGL continues operations to establish new logistics centers in the Netherlands, Belgium, Romania, Sweden, India, South Africa, Brazil, Middle East and Turkic Republics.