No. 15: Mitsui OSK Lines

Current BW Magazine Table of Contents

October 24, 2005 BW Magazine Table of Contents

October 24, 2005 Asia BW 50 Table of Contents

Asia's BW50

2005 Rankings

1	PTT
2	PetroChina
3	Oil and Natural Gas
4	S-Oil
5	Tata Steel
6	POSCO
7	Shinhan Financial Group
8	LG Corp.
9	Samsung Electronics
10	MISC (Malaysia IntÕl. Shipping)
11	Taiwan Semiconductor Mfg.
12	Hon Hai Precision Industry
13	AU Optronics
14	Formosa Chemicals & Fibre
15	Mitsui OSK Lines
16	Reliance Industries
17	CNOOC
18	Tata Motors
19	Hyundai Mobis
20	Komatsu
21	LG Electronics
22	China Petroleum & Chemical
23	Philippine Long Distance Telephone
24	PT BUMI Resources
25	Shell Refining (Federation of Malaya)
26	Sumitomo Metal Industries
27	PT Astra International
28	Thai Petrochemical Industry
29	Kobe Steel
30	Aluminum Corporation of China
31	High Tech Computer
32	Toyota Tsusho
33	Nippon Mining Holdings
34	Formosa Plastics
35	Jilin Chemical Industrial
36	Larsen & Toubro
37	China Steel
38	Esprit Holdings
39	Infosys Technologies
40	LG.Philips LCD
41	China Mobile (Hong Kong)
42	Sinopec Zhenhai Refining & Chemical
43	ICICI Bank
44	Siam Cement Group
45	Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical
46	Matsui Securities
47	Yamada-Denki
48	Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha
49	Orix
50	Nippon Steel

Data: Standard & Poor's Compustat

OCTOBER 24, 2005

STORY TOOLS

THE ASIAN BUSINESSWEEK 50 -- LEADERS

No. 1: PTT

No. 2: PetroChina

No. 5: Tata Steel

Online Extra: Tata: Industrial Oomph with IT Smarts

No. 6: Posco Steel

No. 7: Shinhan Financial Group

Online Extra: For Shinhan, Survival Through Growth

No. 9: Samsung Electronics

No. 11: TSMC

No. 12: Hon Hai Precision Industry

No. 14: Formosa Chemical & Fibre

No. 15: Mitsui OSK Lines

No. 20: Komatsu

Online Extra: Komatsu Digs Itself Out of a Hole

No. 21: LG Electronics

No. 29: Kobe Steel

Online Extra: Avoiding "the Wrong Decision" at Kobe

No. 36: Larsen & Toubro

Online Extra: What India Needs Now

No. 38: Esprit Holdings

THE ASIAN BUSINESSWEEK 50 -- LEADERS

No. 15: Mitsui OSK Lines
Akimitsu Ashida, 62, president since June, 2004

INDUSTRY
Shipping
SALES
$10.9 billion
PROFITS
$874 million

After two decades of falling freight rates and heavy losses, Tokyo-based Mitsui OSK Lines Ltd. is enjoying its best profits ever. It's a miraculous transformation that has President Akimitsu Ashida optimistic about the prospects for turning Japan's No. 2 maritime shipping company into a global powerhouse, just a few years after it looked like a goner. Ashida is presiding over one of the swiftest expansions in Mitsui's 121-year history as he adds 60 ships to the company's 645-ship fleet. The company is not worried about overcapacity because it plans to lease nearly half the new vessels via short-term two-year leases. That way, it is not locked into high fixed costs if demand falters. ``The industry is cyclical, but our business doesn't have to be that way,'' says Ashida.

What's driving Mitsui OSK's earnings is global growth, the insatiable demand for cargo space, and the resulting runup in shipping rates. In the first quarter, Mitsui OSK posted net earnings of $275 million, a 37% jump from the previous year, on sales of $2.73 billion, which were up 11.3%. By locking in more freight deals with customers for 5 to 10 years -- up from the usual 1 to 2 years -- Ashida hopes Mitsui OSK will save some of those profits for the hard times.

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