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In light of this morning’s press comments that new NHS guidelines are advocating that over 2 million individuals are going to be told to boost their statin dose in order to slash cholesterol levels, shouldn’t more of an effort be made to promote the benefits of CholbiomeX3

U.S. port operators have commenced with efforts to improve the supply chain system by utilizing advancements in infrastructure and technology to accommodate bigger ships and manage more cargo. Projects include construction or expansion of roads, bridges and rail to ease congestion in ports, enhance supply chain efficiency, and reduce carbon emissions.

Information technology is being brought to bear to provide enhanced visibility and monitoring of the supply chain. As part of a $1.2 trillion federal infrastructure bill signed in 2021, U.S. ports are receiving billions in funding for revitalization. Seaports are adapting “with deeper and wider channels, as well as new landside projects, thanks to strong federal infrastructure investments.

Shore power systems, renewables and “cutting-edge technology” are amongst innovations that port authorities are implementing.Some of the port projects predate the federal funding actions, or are funded by other programs, such as the POLB’s Middle Harbour Redevelopment project, a 10-year effort that opened in August 2021.The investment came to nearly $1.5 billion for infrastructure, plus another $700 million in cargo-handling equipment, computer and software systems, and workforce training.

Investments in infrastructure and technology are in full swing for other U.S. ports, such as the Port of Camden, North Carolina Ports Authority, Georgia Ports Authority and Virginia Port Authority with several projects completed, near completion or planned.Last year, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced grants totalling more than $703 million through the Maritime Administration’s Port Infrastructure Development Program. Carriers, shippers and consignees are now seeking solutions in the supply chain that provide real-time visibility of cargo movements and speed to market as they commence to invest heavily in infrastructure projects and system integrations. Some ports seeking to expand are constrained because there is limited “industrial [zoned] real estate” nearby. but they are overcoming that limitation by developing inland or dry ports — sites to which containers can be moved out of the port proper, to then be picked up by motor carriers or moved out by rail.

As the COVID-19 pandemic made horribly clear, America’s reliance on China for making basic things like medicine and critical minerals is a huge liability. This bill shines a light on where other such vulnerabilities exist and helps revitalize their industrial base to fix them. They have realised that their overdependence on foreign manufacturing has hampered their ability to quickly respond to supply chain challenges and meet the needs of America and its citizens. They no longer wish to be reliant on foreign adversaries for essential goods: from technology, to critical minerals, to ingredients for lifesaving drugs. These measure will pave the way for policies meant to enhance resilience along supply chains.

They realise that the supply chain crisis may no longer be front page news, but serious supply chain vulnerabilities persist. The Biden administration’s 100-day supply chain review found that manufacturing supply chains instrumental to their national security and economic welfare remain vulnerable to disruption, strain, compromise and elimination. These vulnerabilities are industrywide and affect every American.

Consequently they intend to legislate and introduce new laws and regulations which will require close collaboration between Customs and Port authorities. They are pressing for enhancing interoperability between Customs’ and Port's digital systems which will force Customs administrations and port authorities to take and advance the digitalization agenda. This will necessitate sharing data in a collaborative manner between port community stakeholders to optimize a vessel port call and minimize berth waiting time. By adopting a common agenda with a solid, sustainable governance structure in place to exchange “single truth” data, ports and customs authorities can ensure supply chain security, thus improving trade facilitation in their respective countries.

Businesses will therefore be forced to participate in the digitalisation of their internal processes and systems , failing which they won't be able to function as they will be excluded from the supply chains. The UK, EU, Canada, Australia , New Zealand, South America and some Middle East countries are also seeking to take similar steps as the US have already indicated that these requirements will be formulated within International Trade Agreements and countries won't be able to trade with the US unless they adopt similar protocols.

This is all a bit long winded but in essence it points towards the fact that Businesses will be compelled to digitalise or they'll fall by the wayside. The US aim to have this up and running within 12 months so you'd think that Business is going to be compelled into making this investment very soon . When they do, t42, Traxens, Orbcomm, Nexxiot and all our competitors will be fighting to grab this huge marketing opportunity and that is when we should begin to see some material orders being placed.

The company has made the right products and the technology is cutting edge. The simple problem is the time it's taking the industry to transition from analogue to digital. They're competitive on pricing and have successfully completed many proofs of concept. However, the sad fact remains that there's currently a reluctance by business to make the appropriate investment.

Some may have been deterred by rising interest rates which have increased the cost of borrowing. Our closest competitor, Traxens, a French company are encountering the same problems as they're also struggling to get their customers to integrate their fully functioned products into their container units and they've spent more than we have on a wide marketing campaign but have bigger pockets and are better capitalised.

However, there are some promising signs on the horizon as inflation shows some signs of subsiding and interest rates may soon begin to drift downwards. Current geopolitical tensions have many developed nations seriously concerned about the security of their supply chains and there are clear signs that they intend to do something about this. Just over a fortnight ago the WCO and IAPH participated at the IAPH World Ports Conference 2023. Before an audience of over 600 people made up exclusively of Port CEOs, maritime supply chain stakeholders, senior government officials and international advisors, the Deputy Secretary General provided delegates with an insight into how both Port authorities and their governing bodies can partner with Customs authorities to facilitate smoother trade and cargo flows in their maritime supply chains.

They addressed some of the current challenges for cooperation between Customs and Ports. Against a global context where enforcement requirements are increasing in parallel with the need to accelerate the flow of legal goods, it is important to understand how Customs administrations around the world are managing their relationships with maritime supply chain stakeholders, particularly Port authorities. They highlighted the need for an established governance framework, the use of technology focused on interoperable systems, as well as better and more data management to boost the visibility and resilience of supply chains.

As usual the USA are leading the way on this front and recently and have recently brought forward Legislation designed to strengthen operations along domestic supply chains and this was recently introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives. This is known as the SHIELD Act and are in the process of establishing an Office of Economic and Security Preparedness and Resilience to secure their supply chains. This will set priorities and coordinate efforts among federal agencies and industry to continuously map, monitor and analyze supply chains that are critical to the national security of the United States.

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I'm positive they will have undertaken their due diligence and the fact that they're prepared to invest at a premium of 40% to the pre-RNS sp, speaks volumes in itself. Progress has been slower than anticipated and I wouldn't be surprised to see some short term volatility as uncommitted investors decide the timeframe is not to their liking.
However, for long term investors I think the terms associated with the CLN and Debt Financing have been very realistic given the current state of microcaps in the AIM market. I'm already hearing that credit markets are tightening and lack of liquidity is beginning to cause problems for many businesses in the SME sector. I just hope we don't see a return to the shenanigans undertaken by Nat Wet's Debt Recovery Unit and RBS in the last recession back in 2008.
Long term shareholders interests haven't been significantly diluted, the BOD continue to add skin in the game with Avi's personal guarantee and to date the market seems to have acted positively to this news with more buyers than sellers. I'm still focussed on Q1/2023 which is the period alluded to by Igor at the last AGM and this has been reinforced by Avi who refers to H1/2023.
All in all this is to be welcomed as we can now see that the company will have sufficient funding to take itself to the next level. This is all about future growth and NOT simply keeping the lights on. Credit should be given to the BOD for achieving this in what is currently a very difficult economic climate.

The recent ongoing problems with Covid lockdown in China has brought this to a head as more Logistics companies have sought alternative trade routes to avoid port congestion, strikes at ports and to reduce the transportation cost.
"Japan and the Republic of Korea are Asian largest trading partners for Europe, and they see opportunities for the attraction of freight traffic going today through the Suez Canal to faster routes through the Far East via the Trans-Siberian railway. FESCO has experience in organizing fast multimodal transportation from these countries to Russia. FESCO expect that in partnership with RZD-Logistics they will be able to launch a competitive transit service, which will ultimately contribute to the development of transit transportation through the Russian Federation and will enable them to achieve the strategic goal of 2 million TEU by 2024," Alexander Isurin said.
"A promising multimodal service from Japan and Korea via Vladivostok offers shippers from these countries one of the most optimal routes to Europe, which will significantly reduce the transit time of delivery. RZD Logistics will be responsible for the railway component of the service. Taking into account our competence in the field of land transit transport, I am confident about the high quality and future demand for our joint product with FESCO," said Vyacheslav Valentyk.
This process has now started and they're hoping to add Indonesia, India, Taiwan and other South Eastern Asian countries to this mix. This has the potential to be a huge market. Our links with Dalreftrans' links us with FESCO and we've previously had discussions with RZD concerning Lokies. Customs clearance along with electronic lading bills are going to be at the heart of this. The intention being to use digitalisation to significantly reduce the processing time, increase the volume of goods which can be handled and reduce the manual labour costs providing cost benefits for all parties. So maybe, the recent tweet from t42 may bring more to the party than we initially thought and possibly this is the large Lokies order we were promised over 2 years ago. Time will tell. Fingers crossed.

https://bit.ly/3x3Kzx6, record volumes of refrigerated cargo transportations were achieved. Let's hope this is an omen for the future.
The connection between the marine rail route from Hanoi to Vladivostok and a rail route from Vladivostok to Moscow was launched on September 6th at a ceremony in Hanoi. The link uses a digital security mechanism so customers and related agencies can track goods moving on the route in real-time and make it possible to implement customs clearance of goods at the end point in Moscow.
The Chairman of Russian Railways (RZD) highlighted that an important element of transportation is saving time and connecting the 2 routes reduces time and administrative procedures when transporting goods from Vietnam to Western Russia . The President of FESCO said that within a short time of establishing this route they’ve transported over 5,000 containers back and forth between these 2 countries adding that they plan to increase the frequency on this route.
The Vietnamese Consulate General in Vladivostok applauded FESCO’s decision to establish the direct sea route to transport goods from Vietnam to Vladivostok in late May. From past recollection I think RZD was the company from whom we were hoping to receive a large order for Lokies, which never materialised. I’m hoping against hope that the recent link with Dalreftrans might suggest that the large order for Lokies may still be in the offing. The reference to customs clearance is intriguing to say the least.
Back in April 2019 ,FESCO Transportation Group (FESCO) and RZD Logistics JSC agreed to organize a joint multimodal service for the delivery of containerized cargo from the Asia-Pacific region (APR) to Europe through the CVD (VMTP, part of FESCO) by the Trans-Siberian railway. The agreement was signed by Alexander Isurin, President of FESCO, and Vyacheslav Valentik, Director General of RZD Logistics JSC, in the framework of the "TransRussia" exhibition.
Using the available experience and competence, the parties planned to develop a technology for the transportation of goods with FESCO's linear services and regular container trains from the APR countries, primarily from Japan and the Republic of Korea, to the European Union through the VMTP, as well as in the opposite direction on a similar route. FESCO is also ready to provide its rolling stock, containers and terminals.
Transit multimodal service from Asia-Pacific countries to Europe through the Far East significantly reduces the delivery time in comparison with traditional sea routes or a transit through China.

In the first half of 2022, FESCO Transportation Group increased foreign trade cargo transportation via the Far East ports from 110,000 to 131,000 TEU. “Exports from the Far East ports of Russia to the countries of the Asia-Pacific Region rose by 21 per cent, while imports increased by 18 per cent” comments German Maslov, vice-president of the Logistics Division of FESCO. The growth was demonstrated by the China Express, Korea Express and Japan Trans Siberia Line, but also and most particularly by its new Vietnam Direct Line.
This service was launched in May 2022. As of the beginning of August, FESCO ships involved in the new service made four voyages and transported 2,050 TEU of export cargo and 2,200 TEU of import cargo. FESCO plans to launch new multimodal routes between Vladivostok and Indonesia, India, Taiwan and other countries of South-East Asia.
CVD is an asset that has only increased in importance since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, as trade between Russia and its eastern markets increased. The potential for development of the Far Eastern port lies in the ability to extend long-distance connections to Japan and South Korea by short sea freight. At the same time, the port’s cargo can enter China directly from the east coast, providing an alternative to dangerous goods such as lithium batteries, which are banned by Chinese railways. FESCO's Turnover increased to $1.3 Billion in December 2021 and they posted record volumes of cargo transhipment in (CPV). They also signed a strategic cooperation agreement with DP World Russia to further develop projects at DPV.
They appear to be a very ambitious and energetic Logistics enterprise and are one of the prime movers of goods across the whole of Russia. If t42 are involved in discussions regarding their intentions to digitalise the whole of their operation then some of our other product offerings should be of interest to them. The fact that we've already successfully completed a pilot project with them should hopefully place us in a very strong position in this regard.

The recent tweet by t42 looks as though it may have more substance attached to it than many of us initially envisaged.
Dalreftrans' is a subsidiary of FESCO. It should also be said that FESCO is the ONLY company in Russia capable of uniting all of the links in the intermodal transportation value chain for cargo transportation.
Just to put a little more perspective on this announcement. It will have increased its fleet of reefer containers to 4000 by the end of Summer 2022. Dalreftrans is Russia’s only operator of reefer containers involving it’s own rolling stock. FESCO is one of Russia’s leading transportation and logistics companies with operations in ports, rail, integrated logistics and shipping business. They provide door-to-door logistics solutions and control almost all steps of the intermodal transportation value chain. FESCO controls the commercial port of Vladivostok(CVD) ,rail operators Transgarant and Dalreftrans. Operator of container platforms Russkaya Troyka,dry terminal facilities in Novosibirsk, Khabarovsk and Tomsk. FESCO operates over 100,000 containers and about 9,000. container platforms and has a fleet of 21 vessels deployed primarily on it’s own sea services lines.
It’s entirely feasible this is one of the pilot projects alluded to in the last trading update.. This group has its tentacles all over Russia and is involved in most aspects of Russian transportation. It would be extremely pleasing if other products within t42’s group were utilised by other companies within the FESCO group and should help to increase the company’s exposure within Russia and also amongst its other trading partners.
Whilst undertaking some research on Dalreftrans I came across this video recorded just over 9 months ago with FESCO Transport Group, their holding company. It's worth listening to in relation to their future plans, how they intend to become a Eurasian company, the fact that 90% of their business is derived from intermodal transport and how they intend to digitalise their future operations, all of which could be good news for t42. https://bit.ly/3BfBSkP
FESCO operates CVD which has proven to be a driver for growth of their multimodal transport, with a 19 per cent year-on-year increase this first half year. It was the transloading hub for cargo to and from China, Japan, Korea, and most recently Vietnam.

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