Shipping finance took center stage in maritime conference; 2012 to be another challenging year

News was prepared under the information support of Online Daily Newspaper on Hellenic and international Shipping "Hellenic Shipping News".

30 Sep 2011

Shipowners are facing another challenging year in 2012 said Mr. Leonidas Polemis CEO of Remi Maritime Corporation, urging caution towards operating costs, limited investments and control over chartering orders. He was among the speakers of

a conference organized in Athens this week and titled: “Shipping Today & Tomorrow -International Developments, Trends and Investments in the Greek and International Shipping-Tourism Market”. According to Mr. Polemis the market will begin its comeback during 2013 or even 2014, provided that no more newbuilding orders are placed.
On the issue of shipping finance, Mr. George Gourdomichalis, head of G. Bros Maritime mentioned that things are getting more and more difficult for the backbone of the Hellenic maritime industry, which is comprised of 600-700 small and medium-sized family shipping companies, owning and managing fleets of about 6 vessels each. He also stated that ship values have dropped, which means that the cost of financing is also being increased, given that since the start of 2009, banks have been increasing speads even in older loan deals, while they are also providing finance only to their older clients.
Speaking on the same matter, Mr. Michalis Bodouroglou, President and CEO of New York-listed Paragon Shipping said that ship values are falling, the risk is high compared to the value and there is limited liquidity. On the other hand, as he stressed, the current crisis creates opportunities and businesses with strong balances will emerge reinforced from this situation and will grow even more. Mr. Bodouroglou also provided with a positive note regarding the current difficulties in securing financing, since the reduction in numbers of newbuilding orders, maximizes the prospects of developing the current ones.
An issue which has risen recently revolves around the Hellenic shipowners’ stance towards the country’s troubled economy. Mr. Polemis said that Hellenic shipowners could invest in other sectors of the country’s economy (some are already doing exactly that), like tourism, ports, green energy, natural gas and oil. Still, besides the patriotism they have exhibited they aren’t any different from most investors, in the fact that the Hellenic economy is lacking in institutional and legislative frameworks necessary to attract invesments and a bad public sector. Speaking on the matter, Mr. Bodouroglou said that the Hellenic shipowners are staying in Hellas by choice and ask nothing in return from the State. Hellas is a maritime centre. All banks, all shipbrokers and all shipbuilders are located here. According to Mr. Gourdomichalis, the presence of the country’s maritime industry provides the State with power and prestige when speaking with its piers and investors. Hellenic Shipping represents a market share greated than 50% of the EU and nearly 20% worldwide. It’s the No1 pillar of the country’s economy, with current account balance of over 140 billion euros during the past decade he said.
Mr. Alexandros Tourkolias, deputy CEO of NBG (National Bank of Greece) spoke about the international financial crisis and its implications on shipping, pointing out to the rise of the cost of money, as one of the key problems faced by shipowners and shipping companies. Mr. Tourkolias also talked about the significant improvement of the average age of the Hellenic fleet, which has fallen from 22 years old back in the early 90s to only 15 years old today. Finally, he said that the current debt crisis is causing banks to adopt more cautious strategies in terms of providing loans, while they are also limiting their available capital, ahead of probable recapitalizations.
Mr. Antonis Lamnidis, senior executive with HSBC said that shipping financing has upward and downward cycles, mentioning that the Hellenic shipping industry is in good state, having placed orders for 600 newbuilding vessels, of  a total value of $7.5 billion.
Mr. George Xiradakis, CEO of XRTC Business Consultants talked about the growing role and importance that Chinese banks could have in the country’s shipping, helping shipowners in a decisive matter. Having extensive knowledge of the Chinese banking market, Mr. Xiradakis said that the country’s banks are internationalizing and investing heavily in whatever they can get their hands on both in Europe and in Africa. In terms of shipping finance they have increased their exposure providing loans for deals worth $89.3 billion, out of the total of $470 billion. He concluded by saying that Chinese banks are entering the global market with ambitions. The secret to do business with them is to be patient and have large investment projects in place said Mr. Xiradakis.
Speaking on the matter from a banking point of view, Mr. Ted Petropoulos, managing director of Petrofin Research said that uncertainty is the main ingredient in the course of the global financial activity. “The international banking system is facing serious liquidity problems, which in turn impacts its decision for investments” said Mr. Petropoulos. He concluded his speech by saying that the fact that the crisis have been made clear to all players of the global economy, gives reason for optimism, regarding its successful resolvement.
Nikos Roussanoglou, Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide