Societe Generale News

If shipping is the beating heart of global trade, its pulse is about to get slower. Faced with uncertainty about which fuels to use in the long term to cut greenhouse gas emissions, many shipping firms are sticking with aging fleets, but older vessels may soon have to start sailing slower to comply with new environmental rules.From next year, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) requires all ships to calculate their annual carbon intensity based on a vessel's emissions…

Leading Japanese lenders have joined an initiative that links the provision of shipping finance to cuts in carbon dioxide emissions as the sector accelerates efforts to go green.In recent weeks, Shinsei Bank Ltd, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Sumitomo Mitsui Finance & Leasing and MUFG Bank have signed up to the scheme, the banks said.With about 90% of world trade transported by sea, global shipping accounts for nearly 3% of the world’s CO2 emissions.In 2019, a group of leading banks signed up to environmental commitments known as the “Poseidon Principles”…

Commodities trader Trafigura Beheer has become the first company to offer a defined Covid premium on an Asian syndicated loan, paying up to an extra 20bp all-in on its latest US$1bn-equivalent financing.The novel pricing structure is a first for Asia, if not globally, and could set a precedent for other price-sensitive borrowers looking to limit the long-term effects of the pandemic on their funding costs.Without the Covid premiums, the terms of Trafigura's new deal are little…

The founder and director of Singapore oil-trading company Hin Leong Trading Pte Ltd (HLT) directed the firm not to disclose hundreds of millions of dollars in losses over several years, he said in a court filing reviewed by Reuters.The affidavit signed by Lim Oon Kuin, a Singaporean in his 70s widely known as O.K. Lim, is part of a Friday filing to the Singapore High Court by HLT and subsidiary Ocean Tankers (Pte) Ltd, seeking a six-month moratorium on debts of $3.85 billion to 23 banks.The filing cites a collapse in the oil price and the coronavirus pandemic…

Domestic and international lenders are vying for a slice of Japan’s nascent offshore wind power sector, which is expected to provide as much as ¥3trn (US$29bn) in project financing opportunities, albeit at very low margins.Akita Offshore Wind completed the nation’s first fundraising for a major offshore wind project last month, raising ¥80bn to build wind turbines near two ports in western Japan.Auctions for sites off Japan's shores are due to kick off in April, and lenders are…

Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE) has announced that, in less than a year, it has accumulated €1.48 billion ($1.6Bln) in green guarantee lines.The turbine maker has just completed a deal with Societe Generale to convert a 230 million euro guarantee line to "green”. This is the third green guarantee line that Siemens Gamesa has arranged so far this year, in addition to 1.25 billion euro arranged with two other banks.Siemens Gamesa will use this line for its worldwide business of manufacturing onshore and offshore wind turbine generators."This deal contributes to implementing projects that benefit the environment, address climate change and are socially responsible.

Leading ports, banks, oil and shipping companies on Monday launched an initiative which aims to have ships and marine fuels with zero carbon emissions on the high seas by 2030, in another step by the maritime sector to reduce CO2.International shipping accounts for 2.2% of global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and the U.N.'s International Maritime Organization (IMO), has a long-term goal to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 50% from 2008 levels by 2050.Achieving this target will…

The Global Maritime Forum, banking institutions and other maritime industry stakeholders have developed the Poseidon Principles, a global agreement among financial institutions with the aim of decarbonizing shipping. Named after the Greek God of the sea, the Poseidon Principles aim to reduce carbon emissions by aligning financial institutions’ shipping portfolios with (IMO target of a 50 percent reduction in emissions by 2050. The global framework will establish a common way of assessing and disclosing whether a bank’s lending portfolio is compatible with broader climate goals.Søren Toft…

Hafnia Tankers, a member of BW Group, and shipyard-affiliated leasing company CSSC (Hong Kong) Shipping have formed a joint venture named Vista Shipping to finance and operate product tankers.A term loan facility of USD 111 million is intended to be used to finance four LR1 newbuildings. A banking consortium consisting of KfW IPEX-Bank, Societe Generale Hong Kong Branch and OCBC Singapore participate with 33% each as lenders at the term loan facility and have reached financial close.KfW IPEX-Bank acts as Facility Agent, Sinosure Agent and Security Agent. The 12-year post-delivery financing profits from Sinosure cover and is secured by…

A group of leading banks will for the first time include efforts to cut carbon dioxide emissions in their decision making when providing shipping company loans, executives said on Tuesday.International shipping accounts for 2.2% of global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and the U.N.'s International Maritime Organization (IMO), has a long-term goal to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 50% from 2008 levels by 2050.Working with non-profit organisations the Global Maritime Forum, the Rocky Mountain Institute and London University's UCL Energy Institute…

Eleven banks with a combined shipping finance portfolio of $100bn will for the first time integrate climate considerations into lending decisions to incentivize maritime shipping's decarbonization.Named 'the Poseidon Principles', the new rules are a global framework for assessing and disclosing the climate alignment of financial institutions' shipping portfolios, said joint press release from Rocky Mountain Institute, Global Maritime Forum and UCL Energy Institute.Founding Signatories include Citi, Societe Generale, DNB, ABN Amro, Amsterdam Trade Bank, Credit Agricole CIB, Danish Ship Finance, Danske Bank, DVB, ING and Nordea, and represent around 20% of the global ship finance portfolio."As banks…

U.K.-based international bank Barclays  announced a new energy policy that significantly restricts the bank’s financing for the exploration or extraction of oil and gas in the Arctic.The policy  rules out funding for companies seeking to drill in the Arctic Refuge as well as other climate change threats.According to the British multinational investment bank and financial services company headquartered in London, arctic oil and gas refers to new exploration and extraction of oil and gas in the area within the Arctic Circle which is subject to sea ice, and includes the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) and the Coastal Plains.The ANWR…

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) has announced that the company has signed deals for construction of a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU), FSRU services, and financing for the Jawa 1 Gas-Fired Project, through PT Jawa Satu Regas (JSR), a joint company of PT Pertamina (Persero), Marubeni Corporation, and Sojitz Corporation etc.MOL is entrusted with FSRU construction supervision, maintenance, and operation services.In this project, PT Jawa Satu Power(JSP), jointly established by Pertamina, Marubeni, and Sojitz, will build, own, and operate a gas-fired power plant with a generating capacity of 1,760MW in Indonesia's West Java province while JSR will build…

Leading shipping finance banks have joined industry players in support of faster action to cut carbon emissions by the sector.In April, the United Nations shipping agency reached an agreement to reduce CO2 emissions by at least 50 percent by 2050 compared with 2008 levels, which fell short of more ambitious targets.The UN's International Maritime Organization (IMO) is meeting in London this week to work on an initial strategy on cutting greenhouse gas emissions.In the meantime…

Watson Farley & Williams (WFW) has advised The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd. (BTMU), Japan’s largest bank, as facility agent for a syndicate of international lenders comprising itself, Development Bank of Japan Inc. and Societe Generale on the $180m refinancing of two K-Line LNG vessels, Arctic Voyager and Arctic Discoverer which are time chartered to Statoil ASA, the world’s largest offshore operator.   The WFW Hong Kong Asset Finance team advising on the transaction was led by Partner and Office Head Madeline Leong, supported by Senior Associate Ryan Tan, Registered Foreign Lawyer Rueben Tan and Legal Assistant Sandrea Mar. London Finance Partner Rob McBride provided advice on the hedging elements of the financing.

A cargo of U.S. soybeans shipped to China has become the first fully-fledged agricultural trade conducted using blockchain, participants said on Monday. Louis Dreyfus Co, Shandong Bohi Industry Co, ING, Societe Generale and ABN Amro took part in the trade where the sales contract, letter of credit and certificates were digitalised on the Easy Trading Connect (ETC) platform. "We noticed very significant efficiency gains ... far beyond what we expected," Robert Serpollet, global head of trade operations at Louis Dreyfus…

French multinational banking and financial services company Societe Generale (Socgen) has joined SEA\LNG, the industry coalition promoting the use of liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a marine fuel. The bank is the first financial institution to join SEA\LNG. Joining a growing band of industry leaders from across the LNG value chain, Societe Generale brings an essential financial perspective to the group which aims to accelerate the uptake of LNG as a marine fuel. Paul Taylor, Global Head of Shipping Finance, Societe Generale Corporate & Investment Banking, commented: “The use of LNG as a marine fuel is gradually becoming a global reality.

Universal Energy entered voluntary liquidation on Oct 3, tightening credit in Singapore's bunker fuel market. Shipping fuel suppliers are filing millions of dollars in claims over unpaid marine fuel bills against now defunct Singapore-based peer Universal Energy, formerly one of the city state's largest bunker suppliers but which has now entered liquidation. Universal Energy, ranked as Singapore's third-largest bunker fuel supplier by volume in 2016, had its shipping fuel licences revoked by the Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) in August for actions that could give a false impression of how much fuel it was delivering to buyers. Overall creditor claims against Universal Energy - which went into voluntary liquidation on Oct.

Geneva-headquartered energy and commodities trader Vitol has signed an US$8bn loan refinancing of credit facilities agreed in October 2016, the company announced on Wednesday. The revolving credit facility, which is used for working capital and general corporate purposes, comprises a three-year tranche and a 364-day tranche. The three-year tranche totals over US$7bn. ABN AMRO Bank, Commerzbank, Credit Agricole CIB, HSBC Bank and ING Bank were active bookrunners on the transaction. Bank of America Merrill Lynch, MUFG, BNP Paribas, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, DBS Bank, Deutsche Bank, JP Morgan, Lloyds Bank, Mizuho Bank, Natixis, Rabobank, Societe Generale, Standard Chartered Bank, SMBC and UniCredit Bank were mandated lead arrangers and bookrunners.

Omani government-owned Oman Shipping Company (OSC) has secured USD 227 million in debt to finance the acquisition of ten tankers, Reuters said citing France-based Societe Generale. The new medium range tankers are chartered to Shell Tankers Singapore for seven years. Societe Generale acted as sole arranger and sole underwriter for the landmark transaction, which involved a combination of export credit agency (ECA) and commercial financing. Seven of the 10 vessels were covered by Korea’s export credit agency, K-Sure. Comprising a combination of commercial debt and export credit agency financing, the agreement covers the purchase of 50,000 dwt medium-range tankers constructed by South Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries.

Oman Shipping Company, wholly owned by the government of Oman, raised $227 million in debt to back the purchase of 10 tankers, Societe Generale said on Thursday.   Societe Generale was the sole arranger and sole underwriter of the transaction, which comprised a combination of commercial debt and export credit agency financing.   The commercial portion of the debt package also involved Credit Agricole Corporate & Investment Bank, the Korea Development Bank and ABN Amro. Reporting by Davide Barbuscia

The global shipping industry will hit a credit crunch if proposed new bank capital rules are implemented in a sector already weighed down by toxic debt, bankers involved say. The Basel Committee of banking supervisors from nearly 30 countries met in Chile last month in an effort to complete the new rules for lenders in the world's major financial centres. It is now trying to pin down the details. While the rules do not target shipping specifically, some of the biggest rises in…

Dubai-based ports operator DP World launched a seven-year $1.2 billion sukuk issue on Tuesday, a document from lead managers showed. The issue, structured to be compliant with rules allowing investors in the United States to participate, will price at 237.5 basis points over midswaps, according to the document. This is significantly inside the initial pricing guidance of between 262.5 bps and 275 bps over the same benchmark given earlier in the day, indicating strong investor demand. The transaction will be used to fund the part-repurchase of DP World's $1.5 billion sukuk which is due to mature in 2017, for which preliminary results of a tender offer announced on Tuesday showed investor demand had significantly outstripped the firm's original plan to buy back half of the paper.