Local Banks News

As the Bangladeshi budget of June 1 starts to be digested in full, it has been a quieter week in Chattogram for ship recycling as local banks and recyclers evaluate the outcome to ensure no unexpected surprises emerge, before committing afresh on tonnage.Thus far, none seem to be reported, says GMS, so it should be a busier time for sales and activity from next week. However, this time of year is typically quieter as monsoon season brings persistent rain that hinders recycling activities.The supply of tonnage remains surprisingly scarce…

According to GMS, "some unbelievably low and unrealistic offers" have started to emerge from sub-continent markets this week, and as such, both owners and cash buyers would be well advised to leave ship recycling destinations alone for the time-being, especially until some sort of floor is reached and stability regains a foothold.It has become increasingly difficult to obtain any firm or serious offers from any recycling market, GMS reports, as currencies continue to suffer across…

Following the recent dramatic price plunges which have seen almost $100/LDT wiped off prices, the ship recycling industry in the Indian sub-continent seems to be taking a bit of a pause, as end buyers remain less than confident to offer any firm prices with certainty, according to GMS.Adding to the frustration is the minimal number of candidates currently available to work on, such is the bullish state of all freight sectors. Accordingly, we may see a prolonged summer/monsoon lull across all sub-continent recycling locations.On the West end…

Among transportation planners, “resilience”, describing the ability to bounce back from adversities, both economic and other, has become a top consideration as we increasingly must “expect the unexpected.” The U.S. waterway system, covering the network of inland rivers and coastwise waterways, has seen a mix of good and not so good. As the 2020-2021 pandemic moves toward winding down, a recovery from the dismal 2020 is underway, but activity on the rivers is uneven. Ken Eriksen…

Croatia's troubled shipbuilder Uljanik said on Thursday it had chosen local rival Brodosplit as a strategic partner to restructure its operations.Uljanik, 25 percent owned by the state and with 3,500 employees, has been working to stave off bankruptcy due to liquidity problems that began in 2017. Workers staged strikes twice last year over unpaid wages."Uljanik has chosen Brodosplit as its strategic partner which will have an obligation to devise, in cooperation with Uljanik, a feasible restructuring plan…

Croatia's largest shipbuilder Uljanik, which is trying to attract investors to stay afloat, extended a due diligence process until late next week after drawing the interest of potential strategic partners.Croatia's Economy Minister Darko Horvat said four potential investors were looking at Uljanik's business data and another company was also interested, but did not elaborate."I expect at least two serious offers for Uljanik at the end of this process which would then prevent its bankruptcy…

The exposure of five Philippine banks to financially distressed Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction Co. Philippines (HHIC-Phil), which recently declared bankruptcy after it defaulted on over $400 million in loans, could put pressure on their credit ratings.Their exposure to what may well be the largest corporate default in Philippine banking history may put pressure on the credit ratings of local lenders, Fitch Ratings said.According to reports, Hanjin owes $412 million to Philippine banks. Another $900 million is owed to Korean banks. So far, little is known about these debts and how the actual value of the assets of the company relate to its capacity to repay.“Local banks’ loans to HHIC-Phil are equivalent to only around 0.2 percent of system loans…

Workers at Croatia's largest shipbuilding group Uljanik on Monday held their second strike in less than two months, this time over unpaid salary for September.In late August, the workers downed tools because of uncertainty over payments for July and August. Those two months' salaries were secured after the government reached a deal with a local bank.Uljanik owns two docks, with some 4,000 workers, located in the northern Adriatic cities of Pula and Rijeka. Some 1,500 started a…

Workers at Croatia's largest shipbuilding group Uljanik, who have been on strike for more than a week, began receiving their delayed July salaries on Friday and are set to return to work on Monday.Union leaders and Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, whose government struck a deal with a local bank, confirmed the payments for some 4,500 workers at the docks, located in the northern Adriatic cities of Pula and Rijeka.Last Monday the workers protested in Zagreb demanding the government's help.Despite the funds secured for July and August salaries…

Some 4,500 workers at Croatia's largest shipbuilding group Uljanik went on strike on Wednesday and called for management to step down in protest over late payment."The management has lost credibility in our eyes, the workers and suppliers have lost confidence," one union leader, Marina Cvitic, said.Uljanik controls two docks in the northern Adriatic, in the cities of Pula and Rijeka.The workers control less than 50 percent of the company, with the state also a minority shareholder.

Egypt's Suez Canal Authority is seeking a 300 million euro ($350.19 million) loan from Gulf banks, three senior banking sources told Reuters on Tuesday.   The loan will be used to finance the purchase of two new dredgers, the sources said.   The authority had signed a contract with Dutch firm Royal IHC for the equipment last year but failed to secure funding from local banks.   The sources provided no further details and the Canal authority could not be immediately reached for comment.   Reporting by Ehab Farouk

Kuwait Oil Tanker Company (KOTC) said on Thursday it had signed a 140 million dinar ($467 million) financing deal with three local banks for eight oil tankers, state news agency KUNA reported. The 10-year financing was obtained from Warba, Ahli United and Kuwait International banks, KUNA said. Earlier, KOTC and South Korean construction firm Hyundai Heavy Industries have co-signed a contract worth USD 213.36 million to build three immense gas tankers, as part of a major KOTC fleet overhaul. The deal entails the construction of three liquefied gas tankers at a cost of USD 71.12 million per tanker, the marine transport company said in a statement to KUNA.

Kuwait Oil Tanker Company said on Thursday it had signed a 140 million dinar ($467 million) financing deal with three local banks for eight oil tankers, state news agency KUNA reported.   The 10-year financing was obtained from Warba, Ahli United and Kuwait International banks, KUNA said.   Reporting by Ali Abdelati

Singapore, 20 January 2017– ASL Marine Holdings Ltd. respectively. This means the maturity dates of Series 006 Notes and Series 007 Notes will each be extended for three years to March 2020 and October 2021 respectively. By giving approval to the Consent Solicitation, Noteholders will receive a coupon step-up, with coupon rates of 5.50% p.a. and 5.85% p.a. for Series 006 Notes and Series 007 Notes, commencing on 28 March 2017 and 1 April 2017 respectively, and which are to be increased by 0.5% p.a. thereafter. ASL Marine will also conduct mandatory redemption of 2.5% of the original principal amount of each series at par with interest accrued…

Dubai Maritime City (DMC) informs that superyacht builders, Gulf Craft, is to invest in Dubai Maritime City and is to join the Dubai Council for Marine and Maritime Industries. H.E Khamis Juma Buamim, Chairman of Dubai Maritime City and the Dubai Council for Marine and Maritime industries, received H.E. Mohammed Hussein AlShaali, Chairman of Gulf Craft at the Maritime Business Centre to discuss potential cooperation between the two companies in the fields of industry, investment and development of the maritime sector. DMC explains that the visit comes within the framework of various meetings organized by Dubai Maritime City with senior…

I hope that this headline, if you saw it, scared you as much as it did me. Although I have some confidence about the future of shipping, or I wouldn’t be here, my topic today is about forecasting. Forecasting, to the ancient Greeks and Romans, had a lot to do with omens. The ancient Greeks sought their guidance from the stars, which they believed help them predict the course of future events. The Romans, on the other hand, sought to predict the future in the flight of birds, the cackling of geese, and most famously in the examining of entrails of poultry and domestic animals. The experts who did this kind of thing were called augurs. Today, we rely on Alan Greenspan and Ben Bernanke. History, however, is on the side of the ancients.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $30 million project loan to Engro Elengy Terminal Private Limited, a special purpose company which will build Pakistan’s first liquefied natural gas (LNG) regasification terminal at the Port Qasim. Besides the ADB, the International Finance Corporation is likely to provide $20 million and local banks another $50 million. The rest of the project financing will come from equity proceeds of $33.3 million, for a total cost of $133.3 million, including contingencies. The $30 million loan is to be used to build and operate the regasification facility. The fuel, suitable for use at most of the country’s combi¬ned cycle power plants, will be supplied to the state-owned Sui Southern Gas Comp¬any’s distribution network via a new high pressure pipeline.

According to a report from Bloomberg, Vietnam Shipbuilding Industry Group’s near-bankruptcy may lead to an increase in the non-performing loan ratios at some Vietnamese banks, the World Bank said. State-owned Vietnam Shipbuilding, known as Vinashin, may account for as much as 3% of some local banks’ loan portfolios, Moody’s Investors Service said on Nov. 29. (Source: Bloomberg)

Shaken by a fraud investigation into metal financing in the world's seventh-busiest port, banks and trading houses have been made painfully aware of the risks they face storing commodities in China's sprawling warehouse sector. The probe at Qingdao port centres around a private metals trading firm suspected of duplicating warehouse certificates in order to use a metal cargo multiple times to raise financing. Some banks have asked clients to shift metal, used as collateral for loans, to more regulated London Metal Exchange (LME) warehouses outside China or those owned and operated by a single warehouse firm to limit their exposure. "The banks still haven't looked under the hood," said an executive at a bank involved in commodity financing in China, referring to China's warehousing sector.

PT AKR Corporindo, a distributor of basic chemicals and petroleum products, plans to spend 2.3 trillion rupiah ($198.84 million) on investment in the second half of this year, to finance its Java Integrated Industrial and Port Estate project, said Director Suresh Vembu. The firm is working in co-operation with state port firm PT Pelindo on the project situated on a 1,700-hectare site in Gresik, East Java, and has secured loan commitments from local banks for the project, Vembu said. (Investor Daily) Note: Reuters has not verified this story and does not vouch for its accuracy. (Compiled by Jakarta Newsroom; Editing by Sunil Nair) ($1 = 11567 rupiah)

Colombia awarded a 2.5 trillion peso ($1.33 billion) contract to a consortium led by Brazil's Odebrecht SA on Friday to improve navigability on the Magdalena River, which the Andean nation has long planned to exploit for cargo transport. Odebrecht will have an 87 percent stake in the joint venture, called Navelena. Navelena was was the only bidder for the contract, which covers a 908 km (564 mile) stretch of the Magdalena, which flows north to the country's Caribbean coast from the southern interior. Colombian construction firm Valorcon holds the remaining stake in the joint venture, Odebrecht said in a statement. The project, focused on building navigation channels in shallower stretches…

The creditors' extended help is crucial for survival of Hanjin Shipping Co as its negotiations with owners of chartered ships over a cut in leasing rates and to postpone debt repayments to foreign creditors made significant progress, says the cash-strapped firm. Creditors of Hanjin Shipping, led by the state-run Korea Development Bank, have threatened to put the shipper under receivership, saying its fresh self-rescue plan is far shy of demands. Local banks' credit exposure to Hanjin is estimated at 1.02 trillion won (US$915 million), but they have already set aside sufficient provisions against the loans. The state-run Korea Development Bank (KDB), KEB-Hana Bank and other banks extended a total of 1.02 trillion won to the country's No. 1 shipper, says Yonhap quoting un-named sources.

Brazilian shipbuilder Engevix Construcoes Oceanicas (Ecovix) is expected to file for bankruptcy protection from creditors in a local court this month, the newspaper Valor Economico said on Wednesday. The company, based in Rio de Janeiro, has more than 6 billion reais ($1.7 billion) in outstanding debts, according to Valor. Ecovix did not immediately respond to requests for comment made via phone and email. According to Valor, Ecovix's creditors include state-run oil company Petrobras, suppliers, China's Cosco, Norway's NOV and also local banks Bradesco, Banco do Brasil and Caixa Economica Federal. The company's expected request for protection from creditors is intended to give it room to negotiate a debt restructuring and the sale of company assets to new investors, the paper said.