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KAMCO Delivers Impressive Report Card
We are excited to hear from KAMCO Ship Investment Management Corporation (“KAMCO”) that it has signed term sheets for five more shipping funds with a reputable Korean shipping company and for the very first time, a European bank will be providing the senior loans for these newbuildings. KAMCO is expecting to finance 10 more ships and by the end of this year, it will have close to 40 shipping funds under its belt.
During the Asian Financial Crisis in the late 1990s, cash strapped Korean shipping companies sold 112 ships at distressed prices to foreign buyers and the government was determined not to allow history to repeat itself. A year ago, the Ministry of Land, Transport & Maritime Affairs announced that it would spend up to KRW 1 trillion to acquire ships (not more than 15 years old) from local shipping companies in an effort to enhance their liquidity position and more importantly prevent a loss of national wealth. Continue Reading
Let Us Get Together
The Korean shipping finance market remains challenging but it is heartening to note one Korean financial institution is thinking out of the box and supporting its core clients. On the second day of Marine Money Asia Week, we had the pleasure to listen to Mr. Dong Hae Lee, Head of Shipping Finance Team at the Korea Development Bank (“KDB”). Mr. Lee told the audience that Korean shipping companies continue to suffer losses from operations which have led to several cases of corporate restructuring and liquidation in the country. But the good news is there are several avenues for Korean owners and operators to strengthen their balance sheets now.
For the big boys, self help is important. Korea Line, Hanjin Shipping, STX Pan Ocean, Hyundai Merchant Marine, SK Shipping and Eukor Car Carriers have raised over KRW 2.93 trillion (USD 2.5 billion) from the domestic capital markets. And if the shipping company has secured Contracts of Affreightment (“COA”) earnings from the big freighters such as POSCO, KOGAS and KEPCO, asset-backed securitization and asset-backed loans can be arranged by the banks to enhance the operator’s liquidity position. In terms of sale and leaseback structures, both KDB and Korea Asset Management Corp (“KAMCO”) have introduced shipping funds to provide further financial support to the shipping industry. Continue Reading
An Update on Stimulus Packages
Over the past year, the massive economic stimulus packages put together by policymakers around the globe have been grabbing the headlines, most notably from the United States, China and Japan. According to the latest estimates from IMF, Asian governments have pledged to pump over USD 950 billion into their economies through increased expenditure, tax cuts and cash hand-outs. And if we look closer at the figures, we would notice that fiscal stimulus in Asia is larger than other parts of the world. China, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Malaysia have all announced fiscal packages of more than 4% of GDP, twice as large as US’s stimulus this year.
Many governments in Asia have come up with plans to lend a helping hand to the shipping or shipbuilding industry – sectors that they consider to pivotal to their country’s economic well being. Continue Reading
The Official Guide To Marine Finance Providers
Shipping Index
