As we enter another year, this is a good time to review our main achievements during 2007.

First, we succeeded in realizing the vast majority of our 2007 Business Plan targets. In Hong Kong, the Terminals 1, 2 and 5 upgrade project made timely progress. All the new equipment we purchased for this has been installed and is operational. Now we are preparing to start work on reconfiguring Depots 4 and 6 and Old Container Port Road in order to boost our landside handling capacity and operational efficiency.

We held a ceremony to mark the opening of the first 2 berths of Da Chan Bay Terminal One in December, and will hold a celebration party with customers after Chinese New Year. We are using our experience to ensure its customers receive the same standards of service and operational excellence that make Modern Terminals a leader in our industry.
 
Mr. Sean A. Kelly
CEO
Modern Terminals Limited

Speaking of high standards, we were proud to be the first organization of any kind in Hong Kong to receive a CISPROS (Continual Improvement Safety Programme Recognition Of System) Level 3 certificate from the Occupational Safety and Health Council. This demonstrates our commitment to safety, and I hope we will all work to enhance our performance in this respect even further during 2008.

This year is the 10th anniversary of our partnership with the Grand Alliance. This leading integrated container liner shipping consortium consists of Hapag-Lloyd, MISC Berhad, Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK), and Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL). We very much appreciate the excellent working relationships we have with its members, and we look forward to deepening and strengthening these relationships further in the coming years.

Looking ahead, our 2008 Business Plan is in place. One of its focuses will be to establish a social responsibility policy and action plan. This will be rolled out in the Hong Kong Business Unit (BU) first, then extended to all the other BUs and implemented on a group level. This represents an important investment in the future of the communities where we operate, and in our companyˇ¦s future success. Commitment to our environment is one important aspect of this responsibility, and we will continue to emphasise the environmental policy we launched at the end of 2006.

In terms of our company culture, the Culture Leadership Coalition will strive to strengthen the implementation of our Leadership Development, Job Design and Performance Management competencies programmes. We will also maintain our drive to ensure that every colleague receives encouragement and recognition from his or her peers. Please make a special effort to contribute to its success.

As you can see, we have a full agenda for the coming months. I look forward to working together with you in seeing it through to completion. Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to wish you and your families, good health, happiness and prosperity during 2008!

Sean A. Kelly