State Bank News

German utility RWE on Jan. 1 handed over floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) infrastructure at Brunsbuettel on the North Sea to state-owned Deutsche Energy Terminal (DET) as agreed when first imports arrived 10 months ago, it said.DET is now the sole operational manager and markets the capacity of the Brunsbuettel Elbehafen LNG project.Germany's quest to increase LNG capacity for regasification on its shores has intensified as it seeks to end reliance on Russian pipeline gas…

A German government-backed liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal project at Mukran on Ruegen island in the Baltic Sea, near existing LNG reception facilities delivering into the mainland port of Lubmin, will be downsized.The quest for alternative imports intensified as the country sought to end reliance on Russian pipeline gas after Russia invaded Ukraine last year.Apart from gas, industry and the government are anticipating increased use of hydrogen, which when produced using renewable energy can help the transition to a lower carbon economy.Germany would need to import much of its hydrogen needs and the low density of the gas makes transportation over long distances complicated unless a carrier…

Germany's liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal project at Stade said it would in the coming weeks begin testing market appetite for ammonia as a way to transport hydrogen, as the country's efforts to end reliance on Russian pipeline gas gather pace.The quest for alternatives has included focusing on hydrogen, which when produced using renewable energy can help the transition to a lower carbon economy.Germany, however, would need to import much of its hydrogen needs and the low density of the gas makes transportation over long distances complicated unless a carrier…

BSE-listed Swan Energy, via its 51% subsidiary Triumph Offshore Private Limited (TOPL), said Friday it had executed a term sheet with Turkey's BOTAS to lease an FSRU vessel to the Turkish firm.The term sheet, signed on December 31, is for chartering the FSRU vessel 'Vasant l' for 365 days at a dayrate of $250,000.TOPL is financed by a consortium of bankers, with State Bank of India as the Lead Bank.Swan Energy issued a statement on the term sheet following media reports. It said separately that it hadn't informed the market of the term sheet with BOTAS as it had waited for approval from the consortium of bankers financing TOPL."[TOPL] had applied for lenders' approval for chartering of vessel with the charterer, which is pending to be received.

As we head into the fourth quarter of the year, activity seems to be increasing in terms of general availability of candidates and demand from sub-continent Buyers for tonnage.

The international ship recycling malaise that has gripped the markets over these recent / summer months continues for another week, with minimal-to-no activity and barely any firm interest from recyclers, while fundamentals remain ever so fragile.Steel plate prices have once again started to display their share of volatility in India, in addition to the currency that showed signs of firming towards Rs. 79.20 against the U.S. dollar, whilst weakening back towards Rs. 80 mark before…

Fears and concerns across the sub-continent recycling markets continue to grow as local currencies across all major ship-recycling destinations continue to worryingly depreciate by the day and some even tougher restrictions reportedly set in place on the opening of fresh Letters of Credit (L/Cs) in Bangladesh this week, as the foreign currency crisis in the country deepens further.In fact, the currencies have been such a source of frustration for the ship recycling community that the U.S. dollar transactions are getting uncontrollably out of hand.

As the ship recycling sector continues to try and adjust to these new lower realities on price, in addition to adhering to new regulations on L/C limits amidst a dire shortage of U.S. Dollars foreign exchange / reserves in both Pakistan and Bangladesh, the industry is certainly going through an uncertain period.This week, the Bangladeshi government introduced new limits to cap the outgoing volume of U.S. Dollars for ‘essential’ purchases only – raising question marks about higher priced vessels for recycling purchases in the foreseeable future.

Container shipping group CMA CGM said on Friday that it expected activity to remain strong in the first half of this year after brisk demand for consumer goods boosted its profits at the end of last year.France-based CMA CGM said its fourth-quarter earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) reached $2.23 billion, compared with $1.01 billion in the year-earlier period.Quarterly group net profit came to $1.0 billion.

A growing number of hedge funds are moving into shipping debt, an asset class few have invested in before, looking to buy up loans and bonds as banks cut their exposure to the troubled sector.World economy worries and cost pressures are dampening prospects for a proper recovery in many segments of the shipping sector, which has struggled with tough markets for a decade.Meanwhile European banks, particularly German lenders, are trying to offload distressed and performing loans…

North River Boats, one of the largest private employers in Roseburg, Ore., has new partners – more than one hundred of them. CEO Brent Hutchings informed his entire company of a newly formed employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) that will help him transfer over time a third of his ownership to eligible employees – the vast majority of his team of 131. The structure, Hutchings says, helps share the privately held company’s success with the people who deserve it most, reflecting the true spirit of North River Boats.

Bondholders at final meetings agree to debt-to-equity swap; shipbuilder needs about $400 mln in operating funds by April-end. South Korea's Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co Ltd has won near unanimous agreement from bondholders to swap their debt for equity, meeting a condition that unlocks a $2.6 billion bank bailout for the world's biggest shipbuilder. Daewoo won approval from over 96 percent of bondholders at two meetings on Tuesday and three on Monday, with attendance exceeding 78 percent. The meetings came shortly after the shipbuilder won the approval of its biggest bondholder, the National Pension Service. "We will normalise the company as soon as possible through bone-grinding effort…

South Korean shipping unit will purchase Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM) vessels for USD 515 million and lease them back to the container carrier at favorable charter rates as part of a state aid program. Korea Shipping Co., a new entity servicing troubled shippers will act as a shipping bank to buy vessels from shippers to lease them back to help them out of financial troubles, was launched on Tuesday on initial paid-in capital of 1 trillion won. HMM will become the first beneficiary of the Korean government rescue schemes for shipping through the Korea Shipping Co. HMM also under state bank management is being groomed to take the place of Hanjin Shipping. “We are coordinating the funding plan upon specific support request from HMM.

Hanjin's failure largest ever among container shippers; collapse has disrupted global trade networks. The collapsed Hanjin Shipping Co Ltd could not compete against global rivals that were supported by their governments, the chairman of its parent firm told a South Korean parliamentary hearing on Tuesday. The world's seventh-largest container shipper sought court receivership in late August after its creditors led by a state bank halted further support, stranding $14 billion in cargo and sending waves through global trade networks. "Hanjin Shipping lost the game of chicken played among large shippers," Hanjin Group chairman Cho Yang-ho told the hearing.

Largest Private Sector Shipbuilding Yard in India ABG Shipyard is for sale. The Lenders led by State Bank of India has hired investment bank Rothschild to find a buyer for a majority stake in the company as they struggle to save Rs 16,000 crore ($2.4 billion) worth of loans given to it, reports Economoc Times. Lenders have to complete this exercise -converting debt into equity -within 210 days and find a new buyer within 18 months, according to Reserve Bank of India norms. Earlier, Global commodities platform SIMEC Group bought a 51% stake in ABG Cement for Rs525 crore and initiated a management change in the company earlier this financial year. Meanwhile, Lenders to ABG Shipyard have converted a significant portion of their debt into equity and now own 49.15% in the company.

India’s premier container port, Jawaharlal Nehru Port in Navi Mumbai, has signed an agreement with State Bank of India and Development Bank of Singapore for External Commercial Borrowing (ECBB) to the tune of USD 400 Million at a “very competitive” interest rate to improve the infrastructure required for “doubling” its existing capacity to 9.85 Million TEUs annually. The ECB of USD 400 Million ( USD300 Million from the SBI & USD100 from DBS) will be primarily utilised by the JNPT, which has US Dollar denominated foreign currency earnings which can be leveraged for a low cost foreign currency borrowing, for expansion of its existing roads network connecting to its port project as the existing road network for evacuation of traffic is currently operated at a capacity utilisation of 100%.

South Korea's government and central bank will create an 11 trillion won ($9.50 billion) fund to support two state-run banks most exposed to the country's struggling shipping and shipbuilding firms. "Our key industries like shipping and shipbuilding are being aggressively caught up by countries like China and management conditions have worsened due to weak global trade," Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho said in a speech announcing the corporate restructuring plans on Wednesday. South…

The cash-strapped Indian shipbuilder ABG Shipyard will likely close the deal for a 51 per cent stake sale by the end of this financial year, its managing director and CEO Syed Abdi said. Syed said the company had narrowed it down to one player for the stake sale and was looking to raise about Rs 500 crore for its working capital requirements. ABG Shipyard Ltd was in talks with a clutch of domestic and international investors for selling as much as 51% in the country’s largest shipbuilder. India’s largest private shipbuilder is in the midst of a corporate debt restructuring (CDR) exercise under which the creditors led by State Bank of India agreed last year to recast Rs.11…

The European Commission has approved the takeover of troubled France-Corsica ferry operator SNCM by Corsican entrepreneur Patrick Rocca, according to a letter seen by Reuters on Tuesday. In the letter dated Nov. 27 to French junior transport minister Alain Vidalies, European Commission antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager said a takeover by Rocca would guarantee the required "economic discontinuity" between SNCM's old and new shareholders and clear the way for the Commission to withdraw its 2013 order that SNCM repay 440 million euros worth of illegal state aid. The ruling clears the way for SNCM majority shareholder Transdev, jointly owned by water and waste group Veolia and French state bank CDC, to sell SNCM.

GB Group inaugurated their Port Lafito, a world-class modern container port in Haiti. They informed that the port is now open and operational. Port Lafito is Haiti’s first Panamax Port with state of the art equipment and technology. The multi-million dollar project, led by GB Group, is a private, public and international partnership between the Haitian government, the Haitian private sector and international financial institutions including the Haitian State Bank, Banque Nationale de Credit S.A., Capital Bank, Fonds de Développement Industriel (“FDI”), the International Finance Corporation (“IFC”), Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden N.V. (“FMO”) the Dutch Development Bank, and Nationale d’Assurance S.A. (NASSA).

President Dilma Rousseff unveiled a concession program on Tuesday to draw 198.4 billion reais ($64 billion) in private investment over five years to upgrade and operate Brazilian roads, railways, airports and harbor terminals. The logistics plan includes 4,371 kilometers of new highways, the extension of existing railway concessions and the private operation of airports in the cities of Porto Alegre, Fortaleza, Salvador and Florianopolis, according to a government presentation. The new concessions will have access to less state bank financing in the midst of Brazil's current drive to cut spending and reduce a bulging fiscal deficit. Bidders will be expected to partially fund projects with private financing.

France-Corsica ferry operator SNCM has suspended payments to creditors and will file for court protection on Tuesday, the firm said in a statement late on Monday. Majority-owned by public transport firm Transdev, which is owned by water firm Veolia and French state bank CDC, SNCM said its management would now focus on finding a buyer for the firm. The court protection procedure will effectively mean the end of loss-making SNCM, which is unable to repay 440 million euros ($550 million) of illegal state aid as ordered by European Union competition authorities. Shipping companies could buy some of its ferries and take over part of its 1,900-strong staff to continue the key Marseille-Corsica lines, but other routes are expected to be discontinued.

France-Corsica ferry operator SNCM will file for court protection next week, a source close to the company told Reuters on Wednesday, which will clear the way for its shareholder Veolia to restructure its transport division. Water and waste firm Veolia and the French state, which together control SNCM, have said court protection from creditors is the only way to shield the loss-making ferry operator from two separate European Union state aid repayment claims totalling 440 million euros.