National Bank News

OXE Marine AB announced it is joining forces with U.S. distributor Diesel Outboards and Outdoor Network Manufacturing to strengthen the focus on commercial and distribution development.The diesel outboard engine manufacturer said it agreed to acquire 100% of Diesel Outboards and Outdoor Network Manufacturing’s U.S. distribution and manufacturing business. Through the transaction, OXE strengthens its position in the U.S. market, creating a direct to market model, gaining access to end-user…

The Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation (APICORP), an energy-focused multilateral development financial institution, and the National Bank of Fujairah (NBF) signed a five-year $108 million debt finance facility with Hartree Maritime Partners, LLC (HMP), the shipping affiliate of Hartree Partners, a global energy and commodities firm, with the aim to help boost maritime sustainability.The facility, in which APICORP acted as the Mandated Arranger and Facility Agent, will be utilized to finance HMP’s purchase of two eco-friendly very large crude carriers (VLCC).

An Indian court has issued a second arrest warrant for a marine refueling tanker owned by troubled UAE oil trader GP Global after it failed to make payments to its ship manager, court documents showed.On Sept. 10, the High Court of the western Indian state of Gujrat granted the vessel manager's, Singapore-based Celestial Ship Management Pte Ltd, a request to arrest the GP B3 bunker tanker for unpaid dues, according to the court documents seen by Reuters.On the previous day, the same court granted a request by the National Bank of Fujairah (NBF) to arrest the same GP Global-owned bunker tanker after the oil trader defaulted on a loan payment.Celestial…

An Indian court has ordered the seizure of a tanker belonging to Dubai-based oil trading firm GP Global after a petition from UAE lender National Bank of Fujairah over a loan default, a court document showed.The Gujarat High Court directed the authorities of Pipavav Port on Sept. 9 to seize the company's bunkering tanker, GP B3, and detain it until a further court order or until the outstanding loan amount of just over $2 million is paid, a court document seen by Reuters shows. The next hearing is on Sept. 17.GP Global said last month it had appointed restructuring experts after failing to reach a deal with its lenders over debt restructuring.

Capital Product Partners  entered into a firm offer letter for a senior secured term loan facility of up to $460.0 million with HSH Nordbank AG and ING Bank as mandated lead arrangers and bookrunners and BNP Paribas and National Bank of Greece S.A. as arrangers. The lenders also include Alpha Bank S.A., Piraeus Bank S.A. and Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB (Publ). The closing of the credit facility is subject to finalization of the long form loan documentation. "We intend to use the net proceeds of the loans under the New Facility, together with available cash of approximately $120.6 million, to refinance, four out of five of our existing credit facilities amounting to $580.6 million in total," says a statement from the company.

Qatar will maintain its dominance over the global liquefied natural gas market despite increased supply from Australia and the United States, the weekly report by Qatar National Bank (QNB) said. A report in The Penisula quoting QNB said that Qatar currently accounts for 30.1 percent of the global market. The country captured nearly 70 percent of the new African demand, more than compensating for the lower cargoes to Japan. Amidst these market shifts, Qatar maintained its position as the world's largest and most cost-efficient producer, accounting for 30.1 per cent of global supply and capturing part of the new demand growth, reports The Gulf Times. The commitment to boosting long-term production will solidify its position as the global LNG leader, QNB said.

Gulf-based bidders have emerged for the part-owned subsidiary of United Arab Shipping Company (UASC) whose sale is key to finalising the merger between UASC and German container shipping line Hapag Lloyd , sources close to the matter said. Last week, sources told Reuters that Hapag Lloyd was close to completing the 7-8 billion-euro merger after UASC shareholders agreed terms to repay outstanding debt. A sale of United Arab Chemical Carriers (UACC) - in which UASC holds the biggest stake - is also part of the terms of the Hapag Lloyd merger deal.

BP's oil trading business, one of the biggest in the sector, reported a rare loss in the fourth quarter after it lost a $70 million lawsuit over an oil cargo delivered to a Moroccan refinery. BP's Chief Financial Officer Brian Gilvary said due to flat trading positions ahead of a crucial OPEC meeting at the end of November, and the lawsuit, the company's oil trading division made a "small loss" in the fourth quarter. "There was a natural inclination to flatten up all of the books and there was also an adverse court ruling against us which is a $70 million hit," he told analysts on Tuesday.

National Shipping Company of Saudi Arabia (Bahri), the exclusive oil-shipper for Saudi Aramco, said on Wednesday it had signed a $350 million Islamic 10-year financing deal to pay for the building of five oil tankers. The 10-year murahaba financing was arranged by Standard Chartered, which also contributed to the deal along with Arab National Bank and National Bank of Abu Dhabi, it said. A murabaha is a cost-plus-profit arrangement which complies with Islamic finance standards. The tankers were previously ordered from South Korea's Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries Co. (Reporting by Reem Shamseddine; Writing by Tom Arnold)

Greece has received only one bid to build and run a new rail freight terminal outside Athens, a project it has been trying to get underway for years, the country's transport ministry said on Tuesday. The bid is from ETBA, a unit of Greece's Piraeus Bank which develops and manages industrial parks, in collaboration with Goldair, a domestic firm offering cargo and logistics services, the ministry said. The selected investor will build and operate the terminal at Thriasio for 60 years under a 250 million-euro ($280 million) investment plan which will create a new rail freight transport hub linking up with Greece's largest port of Piraeus.

Greece is still struggling to find investors for a rail freight hub that it has been trying to set up since 2008, sources close to the process said on Monday. China's COSCO had been expected to team up with other investors after the Greek government launched a new tender for the 250 million euro ($280 million) investment project last year, part of a bid to turn Greece to a European transhipment hub. Greece, which had to turn to its euro zone partners and the International Monetary Fund in 2010 for help in riding out a debt crisis, is still struggling to revive its economy. The selected investor will have to build a terminal with access to the national railway network and Greece's largest port in Piraeus and operate it for 60 years.

UK Industry trade body Mersey Maritime has announced a new trade agreement with the Isle of Man Shipping Association (IOMSA) which aims to supercharge bilateral trade, particularly among small to medium sized businesses. The agreement was announced at a special reception during the International Festival of Business in Liverpool UK and has resulted from a series of discussions facilitated by the Isle of Man Ship Registry, which is an Executive Club member of Mersey Maritime, and other IoM based companies such as software engineer PDMS, both of which are also involved with IOMSA.

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.

Chinese shipping conglomerate COSCO is in advanced talks with Greek real estate developer Grivalia and logistics provider PAEGAE, about jointly bidding to build and operate a rail freight terminal near Athens, a Greek newspaper reported. Greece has launched a tender for the 250 million euro ($283 mln) project to build the terminal at Thriasio near Athens, which would have access to the country's railway network and its biggest port at Piraeus. COSCO's shipping unit China COSCO Shipping last week signed a deal to buy a 67 percent stake in Piraeus Port , a move which fits with the group's plan to build a European transhipment hub. PAEGAE is owned by National Bank, Greece's second-biggest lender.

The terminal is also expanding in response to Egypt’s growing population and economy, and role as a global transportation hub. East Port Said, Egypt – Completed within just three months, the new 8.5 km (5.2 mile) access channel directly links the East Port Said port complex to the Mediterranean Sea, eliminating the need for vessels heading to the Suez Canal Container Terminal (SCCT) to wait 6-8 hours for a time window between vessel convoys transiting the canal. This means that the channel, dredged to a depth of 18.5 meters (61 feet), can provide 24-hour access to East Port Said, and SCCT, to the Ultra-Large Container Ships (ULCS) of 18,000 TEU capacity and above now deployed in the Far East/Europe trade lanes, and using the canal in increasing numbers.

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ), India’s largest port developer and a part of Adani Group, a global integrated player, entered into a strategic partnership with National Collateral Management Services Limited (NCML), a major Agri-infrastructure player, for collateral management and warehousing services. The objective of these services will be to assist industries, traders, Importers and exporters in financing their capital requirements at all stages of the supply chain, ranging from Post harvest storage to export or Import stages. Mr. Sanjay Kaul , MD & Chief Executive Officer, NCML, signed the agreement with Capt Unmesh Abhyankar, Chief Executive Officer (Mundra Port) and Mr. Vipul Shah, Head –Sales and Mktg, Adani Hazari port in presence of Mr.

The Suez Canal Container Terminal, located east of the northern entrance of the Suez Canal, at the convergence of the continents of Africa, Asia and Europe, is preparing for an even larger role in global trade as the expansion of the man-made waterway linking the Mediterranean and Red Seas enables increased vessel traffic. Four additional Super-Post-Panamax cranes scheduled for delivery to the terminal in mid-2016 will bring SCCT’s crane total to 24, increasing the terminal’s annual throughput capacity to 5.4 million TEUS, and making it the largest container terminal by capacity on the Mediterranean Sea. “As one of the world’s most important waterways…

King Abdullah Port (KAP) in Rabigh aims at being part of the overall development of the Saudi economy, which is the largest economy in the region and among the top 20 in the world, said Abdullah Hameedaddin, managing director of Ports Development Company (PDC), according to a report in the Arab News. “King Abdullah Port also takes pride in its high-tech superstructures, as they are some of the most advanced in the world and already optimized to service vessels and operate terminals for decades to come,” Hameedaddin said. A significant volume of goods destined for the Saudi market goes through other ports in the region and authorities at King Abdullah Port (KAP) in Rabigh are targeting these goods as their main challenge in order to boost trade.

The overall Greek loans of Hellenic maritime companies and ship owners (drawn and committed but undrawn) rose to $64.019 billion by the end of 2014, 4.1% higher than the $61.498 billion of 2013. Petrofin Research in its latest annual research says that drawn loans are up by 2.85% and Commitments by 18.11%, the latter prompted by the high Greek newbuilding orders. Of the 5 Greek banks active in the shipping finance market, National Bank of Greece shows an increase by 7.33% and Aegean Baltic by 11.99%. The rest show minor decreases. Overall, Greek banks’ exposure is up by 3.17% to a total of $10,8 billion, reflecting the increased stability in 2014 for Greek banks. This increase is the first sign of a recovery, since 2008.

DUBAI, May 11 (Reuters) - Dubai's DP World has released initial price guidance for a $500 million bond expected to be sold on Tuesday, a document from lead managers showed. The deal is earmarked to price in the area of 180 basis points over midswaps. Roadshows for the transaction concluded on Sunday. Barclays, Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, Emirates NBD Capital, HSBC, National Bank of Abu Dhabi and Societe Generale are arranging the transaction. (Reporting by Archana Narayanan

DP World, one of the world's biggest port operators, wants to issue a dollar-denominated bond and could announce plans to market the deal to fixed-income investors as soon as next week, three sources aware of the matter said on Thursday. The Dubai-based firm could raise between $750 million and $1 billion from the bond, depending on investor appetite and the interest rate the company would have to pay to borrow the money, two of the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity as the information isn't public. The firm is likely to issue long term bonds, with a lifespan of ten years possible, the two sources added. One of these sources said the banks arranging the deal were Citigroup…

The Board of Trustees for the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority today unanimously elected Chris Ronayne as new board chair. As President and CEO of University Circle, Inc., which oversees the growth and direction of one of Ohio’s fastest growing employment district, Ronayne has led planning, development, education, marketing, police, and other shared services for the district over a decade of sustained growth. “I'm truly looking forward to leveraging the economic power of the Port of Cleveland to create more jobs for Cleveland and Northeast Ohio,” said Ronayne.

Port and Free Zone World (PFZW), the holding company for Dubai-based ports operator DP World, has closed a $1.2 billion loan deal, banking sources aware of the matter said on Wednesday. The funds have a lifespan of five years, and will be used to help the company meet commitments at the group and subsidiary levels, two separate sources said. PFZW is part of Dubai World, which is currently close to securing a renegotiation of terms on $14.6 billion of debt that was originally restructured in 2011. A spokesman for PFZW declined to comment when contacted by Reuters. Citigroup, Emirates NBD and HSBC arranged the deal and were joined by a group of seven other banks, two Dubai-based sources said.