Shipping Goes to Asia: HSH Nordbank
Given that the Asian shipping industry is in a substantially better position than many other market participants, thanks to strong intra-Asia cargo traffic, the European shipping sector hopes that Asian investors will "come to their rescue," says HSH Nordbank’s recent survey.
As growth stagnates, the European shipping sector is confident that the Asian market will remain a reliable lifeline. Europeans are increasingly optimistic that Asian capital will rejuvenate the industry this year.
HSH Nordbank reported that 80 percent of shipping executives surveyed place greater importance on the Asian region.
"The Asian shipping industry compared to the European is in a better situation … From the European perspective, and more specifically, in Germany, it has to do with hope. From the Asian perspective it has to do with reality," says Ingmar Loges, Global Head of Shipping for Domestic Clients/Global Liner and Container Finance at HSH Nordbank.
The survey sampled 500 executives from its international client base, almost 80 percent of whom planned to move their business activities into Asia if they had not already due to ‘proximity to the growth market.’ 80 percent of those surveyed also expected Asian providers of capital to penetrate ship finance.
"The steadily increasing significance of Asia for the shipping sector is strongly correlated with the financial clout of the providers of capital and the key position of Asian shipyards in building new ships", said Ingmar.
On top of this, a number of established European banks have reduced their exposure to ship finance substantially on account of the difficult situation in shipping and the strict regulatory requirements, he added.
