23rd July 2007

NST LOGISTICS

Halal Hub Group seeks financing assistance

Halal Hub Group has called tender from interested investment banks and finance companies to fund the RM5 billion halal hub development programme.
 
“The fund will be utilized for the development of halal hub centre and will realize the vision of the government to make Malaysia a global halal hub,’ said the official from the Halal Hub group.
 
The tender notice by group identified three areas where the fund will be channeled.
 
The group has indicated that it will be developing 809 hectares (2,000 acres) of land for the halal industry.
 
The proposed halal industry complex will encompass halal industries, halal logistics companies, warehousing companies and Islamic financing centre.
 
Second, the group proposed to design and construct halal hub complex throughout the country and in selected OIC and Islamic countries.
 
The complexes will become the trading centre for the halal products.
 
The group also plans to take over some hypermarkets in the country and upgrade the status to halal distribution hubs.
 
Meanwhile, Northport, as a leading gateway port of Malaysia, is all set to become the first “on-dock” fully-certified facility in the logistics and transport chain in making Malaysia the Global Halal Hub.
 
“We are working very closely with the Halal Development Corporation (HDC) and Jabatan Kemajuan Islam Malaysia (JAKIM) on this matter. We have had meetings with relevant agencies and are looking into the details on the testing, inspection, auditing and certification of products, commodities and systems in our distripark,” said the Northport’s Halal Committee Chairman, Abi Sofian bin Abdul Hamid.
 
“The agencies involved in the discussions are very supportive of the initiatives taken by Northport and they are keen to work with us to ensure that the halal trade via the port meets the stringent requirements and highest of standards,” said Abi Sofian.
 
“We are treating the prospects and opportunities in the Halal trade as more than just a niche market and towards this end we provide an extensive range of facilities and services at our distripark within Customs-free Free Commercial Zone to allow value-adding activities. The Halal trade in Northport is treated as a mainstream activity, and not a peripheral one,” stressed Abi.
 
Northport has taken special efforts to further expand the facilities and services at the distripark including by extending the scope for testing and certification of halal products under our master plan.
 
“We also intend to meet specific requirements of logistics operators; especially those engaging in cargo consolidation services,” said Abi.
 
“This is a positive development as a growth driver in Northport’s expansion and we hope we can help raise the standards and develop best industry practices in the global distribution, transport and logistics supply chain in the “Halal” trade,” where the role of port is critical in the efficiency of the delivery system,” he added.

  
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