The Limited Times

Now you can see non-English news...

The move to India: this is how the port of Haifa was privatized - and what is the fear of the Chinese? - Walla! Of money

2023-02-09T13:20:44.921Z


Mandy Salzman, CEO of the port - how did he manage to appease the workers, why were there protests after all and why is he not afraid for the future of the new owner, even though he lost 100 billion dollars a week?


Mandy Salzman, CEO of Haifa Port (Photo: Micah Brickman)

A few hours after we spoke,

Mandy Salzman, CEO of Haifa Port

, boarded a plane to Koh Chang Island in Thailand, for three weeks of disconnection: without a phone that rings every moment, meetings, discussions, emails and interruptions. At the beginning of each calendar year, he packs himself mentally for the annual vacation, so as not to disturb his professionals working on the numbers for the annual report and to give himself some rest.

Only this time he needs her more than ever.



He is 70 years old, single, born and lives in Haifa, and throughout his life has moved along a management track with forays into politics.

After finishing his degree at the Technion, he moved to manage a company in Eilat, settled there for a period, ran for the city council on behalf of the Likud and served as the deputy mayor.



Two years later, he was removed from his position by the mayor, Rafi Hochman, according to him, on political grounds.

In 1987 he was appointed CEO of the Port of Eilat and five years later he moved to manage the Port of Haifa, where for the first six months he continued to manage the Port of Eilat. did not pass the percentage of the blockade, he returned to the port.



He sounded hoarse, tired, but felt in the clouds: the day before, he hosted hundreds of distinguished guests at the port, together with the chairman of its board of directors, Eshel Armoni, headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Minister of Transportation Miri Regev, and with them Gautam Adani, the owner of the "Adani" group (the Indian billionaire who lost 100 billion dollars in a week) and Ofer Linchevski, CEO of the Gadot Group, in honor of a solemn and historic ceremony in which the ownership of the port was transferred to the Adani-Gadot Group, which purchased it in the amount of NIS 4.1 billion.



It was the culmination of five years of Sisyphean work, which included the preparation of the port for privatization, intensive negotiations with the workers' committees on the voluntary retirement plan, and the regular operation of the port. "The privatization of a government port," he says, "is based on absolute trust between the workers, the committees , the Histadrut and the company's management.

In Ashdod port, for example, the situation is different.

The government's decision stated that it will be divulged before us, but this is not happening, because there is no administrative stability there.

"The privatization of a government port is based on absolute trust between the workers, the committees, the Histadrut and the management of the company" (Photo: Verhaftig Venzian)

Workers and protesters

"There were quite a few discussions with the state officials, about privatizing 85% of the shares to the public and 15% to the employees. I thought that this was an outline that would not result in a successful privatization, because the public cannot bring jobs. I insisted that there be a significant strategic buyer. We had to convince the employees that they are going to a good place More, that is, that there will be fair retirement conditions for veterans, and that we will increase the chance that a buyer will come with professional and serious work in our field, one that can take care of the company's financial immunity."



Even after you reached agreements with them, the workers protested.


"I know the question. You don't need to continue. I will explain. Privatization allows, according to a circular from the Companies Authority, a distribution of 3.5% of the total purchase of the port to the employees. To which employees? To those who were in the company on the day of the announcement, on 10.1.2-23. Employees who retired earlier come and they also demand. There is a regulated circular and what else, if we include the employees who retired two weeks ago, what about those who retired a month ago? In the meetings I had with those employees, they will see the full glass of the economic well-being in which they lived, the education they gave their children , the increased pension they set out for, and they will not focus and enter into sorrow because of the small issue of the privatization grants."



How much is it?


"This issue is in discussions. It is not closed. In addition to the negotiations with the employees, we also needed a quick and efficient ticking with the government agencies, because they also do not retain employees for a long time and for all this, we will also manage to save money.

Having an advisory board and an investment bank to accompany a move of this scale would have cost NIS 30 million.



"We decided that the management would be both the advisory board and the investment bank. We presented the port, interested the customers in investing and did a road show. In July 2022, the Adani-Gadot group won everything on the surface of the land for 32 years, 70% to Adani, 30% to Gadot. The partnership looks Excellent and the professionalism won my heart. Adani has a representative on the board and one of them, Captain Sandeep, who is responsible for the 15 ports of the Adani Group in the world, has been in Israel for several weeks and the rest are in India."



With all due respect to the celebrations of receiving the franchise in Haifa, the management of the Adani Group, including Captain Sandeep, were disturbed during their stay in Israel.

They tried to drive away the black swan that landed on the corporation and led to a chain of events that call into question its economic stability and business image, which also reflects on its new investment in Israel.

Among other things, news was published about Adani's difficulty in obtaining the necessary financing for the purchase, which delayed the transfer of the money to the state.

More in Walla!

The leading health fund presents: the services that will make your life easier

in collaboration with Kalit

On the financial entanglement of the new buyer: "The buyer complied with everything that was required of him from the state and provided the amounts two weeks before the state was ready to receive them" (Photo: Doron Golan)

They hijacked a report

The turmoil began following a serious report by the American investment company Hindenburg, in which the Adani Group was accused of inflating its valuations and money laundering. Adani's counterargument was that the accusations were baseless and stemmed from a lack of understanding of Indian law. The publication of the report's findings caused a sharp drop in shares. "Adani Enterprise" and its ports group, huge losses of 100 billion dollars, and the cancellation of a share issue worth 2.5 billion dollars at the last minute.

Salzman, who is waiting for the board's decision on whether to continue his tenure, is lying on the fence.



Your strategic buyer for financial difficulties and lost a lot of money.

How did this affect the final stages of privatization?


"The buyer complied with everything that was required of him from the state and provided the amounts two weeks before the state was ready to receive them."



He didn't have trouble raising the financing for the purchase?


"The buyer put up the amount and the state asked for two more weeks, so these questions are out of place at all."



The transportation and transfer of goods is at its peak during Corona and crashed with the control of the epidemic.

Your last quarter showed a decrease in revenue due to the decrease in transportation prices and their volume.

How much does it worry you about the future?


"The Port of Haifa is facing two issues: one, a global recession and a decrease in world trade, and the Port of Haifa is affected by the fact that 50% of ship traffic from the Far East to Europe and the USA has been canceled, companies are bypassing the Cape of Good Hope to avoid paying at the Canal, which brings us back to the crisis period of 2008, and within that, Haifa Port receives the screening of everything that happens in the world of shipping.



"The second issue is that the Port of Haifa is not facing a competing Chinese port. The Port of Haifa is facing the Chinese government, I won't go into detail in this interview, big forces. But the Chinese government is involved in increasing the volume of activity at the Chinese SIPG port which competes with us. It



sounds like you are criticizing the decision to sell the port Competing with the Chinese.


"I welcome every competition and everything the State of Israel does, who am I to complain? The fact that we are facing the Chinese government, it was not entirely in our preparations, but we will face that too."



How will you deal with the Chinese?


"We are Adani's 15th port, it's like being another star on the US flag.

We will be in all the transactions of Adani company, with all the shipping companies that frequent the port in India.

China published a forecast of 5.5% growth and the World Bank lowered them to 2.7% growth, China's economy is growing less and India's economy is growing like crazy, so the stars are lining up for us.



Both in terms of a partnership with the owner

of 14 additional ports and with a growing economy.

"


"I personally have a lot of trust in God. But the stars are aligning now and with good and professional work, we will be able to fight all the competitors. By winning the tender, the Adani company published in its post after the win, about its intention to make the port of Haifa the leading port in Israel and the Middle East."



We did not mention the Israeli partners, Gadot, who deal with terminals for chemicals.


"Gadot's scope is greater than chemicals and their storage. They have developed a magnificent logistics chain, maintain infrastructure abroad, there are two guys who came from the public sector, Ofer Linchevski was CEO of the railway, in finance and treasury, Shimon Ben Hamo in Mekorot and the Companies Authority, and Ariel Halperin, their chairman, a wise and experienced man in financial management. I was pleasantly surprised by the practicality they brought to the discussions and the excellent atmosphere."



What is your added value on the other ports, Ashdod, South and the Gulf?


We are not limited like the other ports.

They are limited in terms of the types of cargo, unlike us, who can handle all types of cargo and passengers, and are not limited by the length of docks."



During the ceremony, Adani asked the Prime Minister for help in obtaining construction permits at the port for the "Sea Front" project, which is supposed to change its face and be used for commerce and entertainment. This issue was very important to him.


"I understand very well the unloading and loading of ships, I understand very well the businesses related to that activity and I understand less about real estate matters. I believe that all the real estate business of the future Haifa Port will be entrusted to people with vision and professionalism specific to the issue this.

At this moment I am a full partner in the negotiations with the municipal authorities, the state, RMI and the Sea Ports Company."



Einat Kalish Rotem, Mayor of Haifa, is very proud of this project. How involved is she in it?


"It's hard for me to agree with that. She's been making very good comments since the ceremony we held at the port. Since she took office, over four years ago, we put an agreement in front of her to establish a joint director, which unfortunately hasn't worked until this moment. For some reason she hasn't signed it."



What are the plans for the future, are you staying in the job?


"As you understand, the issue is not for me."

  • Of money

Tags

  • Port of Haifa

  • privatization

Source: walla

All business articles on 2023-02-09

You may like

News/Politics 2024-03-05T17:27:56.274Z

Trends 24h

Latest

© Communities 2019 - Privacy

The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.
The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.