One day prior to the opening of the world›s leading maritime[ds_preview] trade fair SMM in Hamburg, the Ship Finance Conference takes place on 8 September 2014. The 5th forum of this kind –this time under the heading »A New Beginning« – brings together stakeholders from all key sectors: shipowners, banks, emission houses, independent financial advisers, brokers, shipyards as well as suppliers, ports and shipping agents. HANSA is SMM’s exclusive media partner for this event.
The first of three conference blocks features current developments in Germany. Clearly, the German shipping industry is in a state of transition. Financial investors, especially from the US, have finally arrived in the market after initial difficulties. Their funds are flowing mainly into newbuilding orders, and this is affecting the German shipping community. The pressure to consolidate is increasing given that only very few shipowners are attractive for foreign investors. Bank financing is also still alive. For example, a Norwegian-German group of investors has just established a new shipping bank.
Block 2 looks at shipyards, the financing of newbuilds and export loans. The inherent weakness of many traditional ship-financing banks has led to the rise of export credit agencies. Shipowners are increasingly ordering newbuilds with »finance attached«, which means that the yards take care of arranging the export financing. As a result, ship financing has become increasingly a national game with new players.
The third block of the one-day conference focuses on global financing trends like bonds, leasing or IPOs. Especially in Germany, alternatives to the traditional way of financing newbuilds via the KG market are becoming more important. The bond market in Oslo is experiencing a boom. In Germany, Rickmers, Deilmann and Hapag-Lloyd have issued bonds. Leasing structures can also offer access to capital markets – e. g. to China. And IPOs are back on the agenda as well.
Leading experts will address current challenges of financing. Speakers at the SMM Ship Finance Conference include, amongst others, Halvor Sveen (Maritime & Merchant Bank), Carsten Wiebers (KfW IPEX-Bank), Dave Vander Heyde (IHC Merwede), Alexander Nürnberg (Hatlapa) and Torsten Teichert (Lloyd Fonds).
Delegates’ tickets cost 714.00€ (VAT and free SMM entrance from 9–12 September 2014 included). An early bird rate of 571.20€ is available until 30 June 2014.
