January 4, 2002



President Kunio Suzuki's New Year Address
to MOL and MOL Group Employees




Happy New Year to everyone.

The first year of the 21st century, 2001, was a difficult year from any perspective -- global political, economic, or societal. I regret to say, we have to start the New Year with the aftereffects of the preceding year. I, too, saw the New Year in by preparing myself to tackle the coming year with greater preparation than usual.

First of all, it is more critical than ever to ensure the safety of our operations. We must take the utmost care in handling cargo, operating our ships, and taking all possible measures against terrorism. It is especially important to consider the safety of directors and employees of MOL and MOL Group companies who work abroard and also go on overseas business trips, including to the United States and the Middle East.

The circumstances surrounding the company are grim - much different than the business environment prevailing when MOL next was formulated. Every company shows a happy face in prosperous times, but its true face appears only when times get hard. For MOL, 2002 is a critical year - one in which the entire company will be tested and the positive effects of MOL's Creative and Aggressive Redesigning strategy and the benefits of the merger with Navix Line should become apparent.

Confucius said, "Only when the year grows cold do we see that the pine and cypress are the last to fade." In the same way, we see what people are really made of for the first time in times of crisis or confusion.

Other companies have also experienced difficulties in these hard times. The way a company responds to these challenges will determine its future. I want everyone in the MOL Group to think of the challenges we face as opportunities to set ourselves apart from the competition and ensure our long-term success.

Whether on land or sea, I ask all employees to devote all your intelligence, skills, and know-how to achieve your goals. Specifically, continue to develop customer-first services with the backing of all our companies. And do not use the recession as an excuse for taking a positive approach to sales and customer service. Times like these are an excellent opportunity to differentiate MOL from the competition. Next, fine-tune your "antenna" to quickly grasp changes in customer needs. Use this information in client service activities, and pass it along to management at the same time.

Needless to say, we must fully achieve our cost reduction goals. Think hard and try to come up with creative approaches, while making full use of today's information technology. Look for ways to improve efficiency as we reduce costs.

Although overall business conditions remain difficult, in one area we exceeded the goals of MOL next in the first year - specifically, expanding our LNG business. During the first half year of MOL next, we signed contracts for eight LNG carriers, much sooner than we had anticipated. Three of these contracts involve consortiums with other Japanese shipping companies; in the other five, MOL is the only shipping company. We expect to sign contracts for one additional carrier in the very near future. And even though we achieved our three-year goal in only six months, we are still working hard to win more new business.

I toured Europe and the United States at the end of 2001, and heard some strong opinions on the future of our liner business. With the recent deterioration in containership business, clients these days seem to be favoring shipping companies with financial stability and reliable service. I believe this is a tremendous opportunity for us to aggressively expand our sales and client service activities.

To make the MOL Group a truly resilient, powerful organization in the 21st century, we must first achieve the goals of MOL next. This will give us a strong foundation and the basis for future expansion.

Let's all continue working to make the MOL Group stronger and more flexible, as set out in MOL next, and stay on track to meet all of its goals by the final year. As for me, I be in the forefront, doing my very best.

Finally, I pray for the safe operation of all our vessels, and hope that 2002 will be a healthy, happy, and prosperous year for you and your families.