Korea Trade Insurance Corporation News

Containership giant Seaspan Corporation announced on Wednesday that it now has financing lined up for its entire 70-vessel newbuild program.With the completion of the latest $1.4 billion deal in December, Seaspan said its financing proceeds are approximately $6.9 billion.Seaspan, a subsidiary of Atlas Corp, said the $1.4 billion will be used to finance ten 15,000 TEU LNG dual-fuel newbuilds, the last of its recent $7.6 billion containership ordering spree, including three ships that have already been delivered.

German shipping company Hapag-Lloyd has joined the shift to green financing, securing funds for six liquefied natural gas (LNG) powered, 23,500 TEU containerships it ordered in December 2020.The firm said it concluded two transactions according to the Green Loan Principles of the Loan Market Association (LMA), as verified by independent secondary party DNV GL, as the shipping industry increasingly turns toward financing linked to measurable sustainability targets."Our first green financings are a major milestone for us…

GasLog signed an Export Credit Agency-backed debt financing of $1.05 billion with 12 international banks for its current newbuilding program.The LNG carrier owner and operator has seven LNG carriers on order at South Korean shipyard Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI), five of which are for delivery in 2020 with two more due in 2021.The Newbuild Facility covers the balance due to the shipyard on delivery and consequently the final installments of the seven newbuildings are fully funded.Five of these seven newbuildings are scheduled to deliver from the yards into firm multi-year charters in 2020 and the remaining two into firm multi-year charters in 2021.The facility has a tenor of up to 12 years with an amortization profile of 18 years from vessel delivery.

Nogaholding, the investment and business development arm of Bahrain’s National Oil and Gas Authority (NOGA), recently hosted a dinner to mark the financial close of its LNG Terminal Project with Bahrain LNG WLL, the developer and owner of the first LNG receiving and regasification terminal to be developed on a public–private partnership (PPP) basis in the Middle East. Dr Dafer Al Jalahma, CEO of nogaholding, said: "Led by K-SURE, this well-structured LNG regasification terminal transaction attracted high quality project finance lending of $741 million for a tenor of 20 years. Jointly owned by the Oil and Gas Holding Company (nogaholding – 30 per cent) and a consortium consisting of Teekay LNG Partners LP (30pc)…

Bahrain LNG, the developer of the Gulf state’s receiving and regasification terminal for liquefied natural gas (LNG), has closed a $741 million syndicated loan for the platform’s construction. The private-public partnership  is being developed to supplement local gas production in Bahrain and ensure capacity to meet peak seasonal gas demand and industrial growth. Financing a project of this size and complexity is a landmark in the regional financial markets. According to the company, nine banks were lending the $741mn it will cost to build the plant and related infrastructure, capable of handling 800 million standard cubic feet per day when complete in 2019. The project includes a nitrogen facility, to lower the calorific value of imports as needed.

Concerns were growing again over liquidity woes of Soth Korea's largest shipbuilder Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME), as the Angolan oil major Sonangol EP is likely to delay the takeover of its drill ships once again. According to The Korea Herald, DSME was planning to deliver the two drill ships to Angola’s state-run oil company Sonangol by this month to receive the remaining contract fee of $1 billion. The South Korean shipbuilder has completed building two drill ships, set to be delivered in June and July, respectively, but due to financial difficulties, the Angolan company has postponed the delivery. The companies have agreed to push the transaction date to end-September, but the takeover is being postponed again.

South Korea will pump $9.5bn (11 trillion won) into state-run policy lenders reeling from huge losses on loans made to the beleaguered shipbuilding and shipping sectors to help them deal with further corporate distress, says FT. South Korea's fund will support two state-run banks most exposed to shipping and shipbuilding firms currently being restructured. The China slowdown is partly to blame. The two state-run banks to be capitalised are Korea Development Bank (KDB) and the Export-Import Bank of Korea (KEXIM). "The fund will buy hybrid bonds issued by state-run banks," Finance Minister Yoo Il Ho said. "We will swiftly carry out restructuring of shipping and shipbuilding companies under the principle that the companies strictly implement their own reform plans and take losses incurred" .

The South Korean government will create a US$1.2 billion ship investment fund to aid the shipping industry which has been struggling due to decreasing global trade. A report by South Korea's Yonhap News Agency said the fund will help shippers buy and sell vessels with less financial risk. The fund, aims to "aid the shipping industry which has been struggling due to decreasing global trade". Fund will "help shippers buy and sell vessels with less financial risk as the Korea Trade Insurance Corp. and the Korea Maritime Guarantee Insurance Co. Local financial companies and state-run policy lenders including the Korea Development Bank will participate in the $1.2 billion fund.

Peter Livanos-backed Monaco-headquartered owner and operator of liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers GasLog Ltd. has completed a USD 1.3 billion credit facility with fourteen international banks to finance the construction of eight 174,000 cbm newbuilds. New York-listed GasLog says 14 banks, plus two export credit agencies, have supported the facility. The Export Import Bank of Korea (KEXIM) and the Korea Trade Insurance Corporation (K-Sure) are either directly lending or providing cover for over 60% of the facility, GasLog said. GasLog  has eight 174,000-cbm LNG carriers under construction in Korea, of which six are being built at Samsung and two at Hyundai Heavy Industries. Half the vessels are scheduled to arrive next year, three will follow in 2018 and another in 2019.

Yoon Sang-Jick, Minister of Trade, Industry, and Energy (MOTIE) of Korea, held a meeting to check pending issues faced by Korean shipbuilding and offshore plant industry at Seoul Palace Hotel recently. The meeting was intended to examine current status of overseas and home industry and seek response proposals. Some 20 presidents from allied organizations attended, such as MOTIE, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (MOF), the Ministry of Employment and Labor (MEL), shipbuilding and offshore plant industry…