Dubai-based global shipping, logistics and marine services group, GAC, celebrated its 50th anniversary with a forecast of continued growth through to 2010. Group President Lars Säfverström said that a review of its five-year business strategy, Vision X -Global Reach (VXGR), launched in mid 2003, showed that GAC had already surpassed its targets for extending its global presence while integrating and diversifying its range of services.
GAC’s home market in the Middle East continues to be a growth engine for the group, generating operating income growth of 50 per cent over the past three years. Säfverström also told key executives and partners at GAC’s Management Information Meeting, held in conjunction with the 50th anniversary celebrations in Dubai, that the rising economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China represented huge potential for GAC’s three core business areas over the next five years.
“These four countries will be increasingly powerful contributors to the global economy and we are well positioned to capitalise on emerging opportunities,” he said.
As early as 2003, GAC established a representative office in Brazil to grow its Latin American business. It will set up a fully-fledged operation there in April.
In Russia, GAC recently opened an office in St Petersburg to complement offices in Novorossiysk and Moscow. In India, the Group has been in operation since the early 80s and has now opened its 19th office in the country. Meanwhile, China’s importance to the group has been underlined by the upcoming transfer of Shipping Manager Capt. Bi Yuping from Hong Kong to Shanghai to oversee expanding operations at the world’s busiest port.
However Säfverström warned about uncertainties, such as oil and energy prices, that could effect revenue margins. “While we are not able to predict absolutely the direction in which the oil price will travel, we can be fairly sure that downstream costs are likely to rise in coming years,” he said.
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