Captain S. Gupta
Worldwide shipping, industrials, commodities, mining and energy business, the SIMEC Group, has recruited one of Asia’s most prominent commercial mariners to lead the expansion of its global shipping operation.
The Group has appointed Captain S. Gupta as chief executive of SIMEC Shipping, which operates port facilities and administers the chartering, leasing and ownership of vessels worldwide. He also takes over as acting chief executive of SIMEC Commodities Asia.
Punjabi-born Captain Gupta, 44, comes to SIMEC with more than 27 years industry experience, having previously established Mercuria Trading (India) Pvt Ltd, creating a footprint across commodities ranging from oil to dry bulk, and serving as senior vice-president Mercuria Energy Trading Pte Ltd, Singapore. He also headed the global physical dry bulk shipping for the Mercuria group.
In his new role heading SIMEC’s shipping division, he will divide his time between Singapore and SIMEC’s main UK port in Newport, South Wales.
He first entered the shipping industry as a P&O cadet following nautical training at the Blackpool & Fylde College in Lancashire and secured his Masters certificate with the prestigious shipping line before moving taking several senior roles with major ship owners.
Commenting on his dual appointment he said: “My aim is to direct all my energies towards improving the Group’s shipping and logistics activities and help take SIMEC’s global trading to a new high.”
He said he looked forward to renewing his association with the UK, where he aims to achieve a significant expansion of SIMEC’s shipping activity, including the ability to bring bigger vessels into the Group’s port in South Wales.
He added: “Looking at SIMEC I could see a huge opportunity. Their vision to expand globally is very inspiring. That is what excites me very much.”
Jay Hambro, chief investment officer for the SIMEC Group said: “Captain Gupta’s huge experience, mixed with his results-oriented approach and ability to think strategically are the robust assets we need to take this business forward and achieve our big ambitions over the coming months and years.
SIMEC is part of GFG which also includes the Liberty Group and GFG Capital.
SIMEC
The SIMEC Group is a multi-faceted enterprise spanning five continents and encompassing major operations across Shipping, Industry, Mining, Energy and Commodities. The business is part of the GFG Alliance and was established over 50 years ago by Parduman K. Gupta, who remains Chairman of SIMEC. Latest SIMEC turnover exceeded US$ 2.4bn, with net assets valued at US$ 3.2bn. Strong financial performance recently secured the Group an A+ rating from India’s major credit rating agency Care Ratings.
SIMEC Shipping centres on the chartering, leasing and ownership of vessels, as well as port ownership and operations, while SIMEC Industry includes the ownership and management of substantial manufacturing and processing operations. SIMEC’s mining interests, which are focused on India, Africa, Indonesia, UK and USA, encompass mainly coal and other bulk commodities. These provide raw materials for global industries and for the group’s own power generation and industrial activities, particularly steel. SIMEC Energy is a fast growing part of the business which currently operates a 395 mw power generation station in the UK (SIMEC Uskmouth Power), an energy utility provider (SIMEC Marble Power) and a peaking plant business (SIMEC E-Net) along with plans for several other generation plants in Asia and Africa and major investments in Tidal Lagoon Power in the UK and internationally. SIMEC Commodities, which has subsidiaries in six major locations worldwide, specialises in trading mainly commodities, including electricity, coal, biomass, oil, scrap and waste. All SIMEC divisions are currently undergoing very significant expansion, both organically and through acquisition. Visit www.simec.com
GFG Alliance
The GFG Alliance is an association between Parduman K Gupta and Sanjeev K Gupta’s business interests to forge a new agile, sustainable, non-cyclical integrated global business model. Its key focus is the creation of a resilient supply chain – from liquid steel produced from recycled scrap and renewable energy, to steel and highly-engineered products manufactured locally on a global basis, funded through a pioneering financial approach.
The Group, which has a global footprint spanning 30 countries comprises four distinct businesses: Liberty Commodities Group (LCG) a comprehensive services provider to the global steel and metal industries, Liberty Industries Group (LIG), an integrated steel producer and distributor, SIMEC, an international resources group focused on sustainable power, mining and infrastructure assets and GFG Investments an innovative financial services and properties platform. In 2016 GFG’s combined turnover totalled US $6.7bn, and its net assets are valued at US $1bn.
For further information on the above businesses visit www.simec.com and www.libertyhousegroup.com
