Citicorp News

On July 15, 2016, Victoria International Container Terminal (VICT) signed a syndicated loan facility worth AUD 398 million (approximately USD 300 million) with seven leading global financial institutions, namely: Citibank N.A., KFW IPEX-Bank, Standard Chartered Bank as Mandated Lead Arrangers and Bookrunners, Bank of China Limited, DBS Bank Ltd., Investec Bank PLC as Mandated Lead Arrangers, and Cathay United Bank as Lead Arranger. The facility provides significant financial flexibility with long-dated tenors of 7, 10, and 16 years. Finnvera, the Finland based export credit agency, also participated in the transaction by providing a guarantee for a portion of the facility.

Following a unanimous board decision, the International SeaKeepers Society welcomed Dean C. Klevan as its new President and CEO. Klevan joins SeaKeepers following a distinguished career in the financial services industry. Most recently, he was the President of the Coral Gables Trust Company, an institution he helped to found. Klevan also served in senior positions with Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch, and Citicorp in the United States and abroad. He brings a business perspective to the challenges faced by a not-for-profit in today’s weakened economic environment.

Pamela C. Conover, who has taken leadership roles at three major cruise lines, has been voted Personality of the Year 2009 by the Women’s International Shipping & Trading Association. The decision was announced at the 2009 conference of WISTA, taking place at IMO headquarters in London from September 16-18. Pam Conover is president and chief executive of Seabourn Cruise Line, a luxury cruise subsidiary of the Carnival group. The special WISTA accolade recognises an outstanding personal contribution to the maritime industry.

Marine-Finance.Com announced that Joe Pitch has signed on as Managing Director for Marine-Finance.Com LLC. Pitch joins former CitiCapital Commercial Marine Finance colleague Robert Girard, SVP, who, along with CEO Richard Paine, constituted the core of the CitiBank- affiliated marine group. Pitch is a 30-year veteran of the equipment leasing/finance industry he has financed more than $1b in equipment. Based in Dallas, Texas, Pitch is a graduate of Seton Hall University with a Bachelor of Business Administration with a concentration in Finance. He is a past member of the American Waterway Operators (AWO), the Offshore Marine Services Association (OMSA) and an affiliate member of the Passenger Vessel Association (PVA).

Phenomenal is perhaps the only word adequately to describe the rampage of new, integrated e-commerce solutions that have recently swamped the maritime industry. The marine market, which has a solid reputation of following rather than leading technological surges, has gone from "zero to sixty" in record time on the e-commerce front. But while the industry today has a bevy of selections from which to choose — including portals for conducting every transaction conceivable, from fixing cargos to buying bunker fuel, spare parts or a ship's stores — the critical question revolves around not which choices are available today, rather which choices will be available one year from today.

No stranger to the cruising industry, Pamela Conover, president and COO of Cunard Line Ltd. Could undoubtedly be the reason behind the company’s continual ability to capture and hold on to the rich British history that it has sustained since its establishment in 1840. More than 150 years later, Cunard, with Conover’s leadership continues to uphold this identity specifically with its illustrious 1,131-ft. (345-m) ocean liner Queen Mary 2. Scheduled for delivery in 2004, the vessel promises to be reminiscent of the glory days of when the trans-Atlantic crossing ruled the seas. Queen Mary 2 is arguably the most prestigious cruise project to date. The vessel, which will measure 1,131 ft. (345 m) with a 131-ft.