Learn mandarin - UK firm plans to steam ahead via rail

BIZCHINA / Overseas Investment

UK firm plans to steam ahead via rail

By Zheng Lifei (China Daily)
Updated: 2007-04-20 14:24

SHANGHAI: Lloyd's Register, a leading risk management services provider,
is aiming to achieve compound annual growth of 20 percent in its China
revenue and headcount in the next five years via the nation's booming
rail sector, a company executive said.

The British firm provides safety, quality, asset management and
classification services for sectors like shipping, rail, oil and gas. It
chalked up $20 million in revenue in China last year, said John
Stansfeld, director of Lloyd's Register's Asia operations.

"We have managed to record double-digit growth in the past few years and
we aim to keep the compound annual growth rate of at least 20 percent in
our revenue in the next five years," Stansfeld told China Daily.

"We are also planning to increase our workforce in the country by 20
percent a year at the same time," he said.

Lloyd's Register, which is also the world's leading shipping
classification firm, currently boasts about 440 employees in China, of
which 350 are based on the mainland.

"Rail and marine sectors will be our principle business focus in China,"
Stansfeld said.

"The railway sector in particular boasts enormous market potential for
us," he added.

China is planning to build 7,000 kilometers of dedicated passenger lines,
4,000 kilometers of double-track lines, and upgrade 8,000 kilometers and
15,000 kilometers of existing track to double-track and electrified lines
during the 11th Five-Year Plan (2006-10) period, with total investment
expected to reach 1.25 trillion yuan.

"The shift to the hi-tech railway systems also presents us with a huge
potential market," Stansfeld said, referring to China's efforts to
modernize its extensive rail networks.

China increased its rail speed on Wednesday, the sixth upgrade since 1997.

"We can leverage our safety, efficiency and other expertise in high-speed
rail systems to help China's shift to high-speed rail drive," Stansfeld
said.

And China's growing volume of railway equipment exports would also spur
Lloyd's Register's business in the country, the director said.

"China is now exporting more and more rail system equipment and we could
provide certification and other services to help Chinese manufacturers
meet overseas requirements," Stansfeld said.

The booming metro sector, Stansfeld said, is another "business driver"
for his firm's expansion in China.

Currently, six cities on the mainland have subway systems and more lines
are under construction in other cities.

China is expected to overtake Japan as the company's biggest market in
the region in the next two years, Stansfeld said.

The London-based firm has seven offices on the Chinese mainland in
Dalian, Beijing, Qingdao, Nanjing, Shanghai, Wuhan and Guangzhou.

It plans to open three new offices in the country next year in Tianjin,
Xiamen and Jiangyin.

(China Daily 04/20/2007 page14)

(For more biz stories, please visit Industry Updates)

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