Sumitomo Mitsui News

Swedbank has signed the Poseidon Principles, a global framework for integrating climate considerations into lending decisions within ship financeThe Poseidon Principles provide a standardised methodology for data collection and reporting of emissions from banks’ shipping portfolios, with the overall ambition of supporting and facilitating the decarbonization of the shipping industry.The Poseidon Principles are consistent with the policies and ambitions of the IMO, including its…

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”…

Many of the world’s biggest lenders to shipping companies fell short of carbon-cutting targets last year in the first analysis of CO2 goals for the sector by financiers, a report showed on Wednesday.Global shipping accounts for nearly 3% of the world’s CO2 emissions and the industry is under pressure to reduce those emissions and other pollution. About 90% of world trade is transported by sea.Last year, 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…

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank (SMTB) joined the Poseidon Principles. The Principles were developed by international shipping banks, in collaboration with leading maritime industry players, to promote greener global shipping. They establish a common, global baseline to quantitatively assess and disclose whether financial institutions’ ship lending portfolios are in line with decarbonization targets.With SMTB’s commitment, Signatories to the Poseidon Principles now represent over $150 billion in loans to international shipping – more than a third of the global shipping finance portfolio.

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…

Russia's state-owned tanker carrier Sovcomflot (SCF Group) reported improvements on both the top and bottom line in the third quarter benefiting from a stronger tanker market.The energy shipping company posted a net profit of  $26m as revenue increased in the third quarter.Sergey Frank, Chairman of the Board of Directors of PAO Sovcomflot, said: “We are satisfied with the Group’s performance over the third quarter. Sovcomflot steadily follows through on its strategy of increasing the share of large-scale industrial shipping projects in its portfolio."He added: "During the reporting period, Sovcomflot achieved a major strategic milestone when we agreed with NOVATEK to establish a new joint venture, SMART LNG.

Watson Farley & Williams (WFW), an international law firm based in London, said that it has advised Race Bank Wind Farm Limited on its USD 608 million sale of transmission system assets relating to the 573 MW Race Bank offshore wind farm to Diamond Transmission Partners.Race Bank is a joint venture owned by Ørsted (50%), Macquarie European Infrastructure Fund 5 (25%), a fund established by Sumitomo Corporation, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and Development Bank of Japan (12.5%), and Arjun Infrastructure Partners and Gravis Capital Management (12.5%).Diamond Transmission Partners is a 50/50 partnership between Diamond Transmission…

Russian maritime shipping company specializing in petroleum and LNG shipping Sovcomflot (SCF Group) and NYK Line have announced that they have signed a new $176 million non-recourse credit facility for eight years with three leading international banks.The banks are: Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. of Japan (through its German subsidiary, SMBC Bank EU AG); Société Générale of France; and Shinsei Bank of Japan. The agreement was reportedly signed through joint venture companies belonging to SCF Group and NYK Line.The facility will be used towards refinancing two ice-class LNG carriers servicing the Sakhalin-2 project, Grand Aniva and her sister ship Grand Elena, which are jointly owned and operated by SCF Group and NYK Line.

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines and Mitsui & Co have participated in a long-term charter business  operated by MODEC for the purpose of providing a floating production, storage, and offloading system (FPSO) for use in the Area 1 block offshore Mexico and a loan agreement for the Project was entered into on April 12, 2019.Mitsui and MOL invested in Area1 Mexico MV34 B.V. ("MV34"), a Dutch company established by MODEC, which will engage in FPSO leasing, operations and maintenance services.In December 2018, MV34 concluded the charter agreement with Eni Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V. ("Eni Mexico"), the operator of Area 1 block and a subsidiary of Eni S.p.A.

Japanese shipping company Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (K Line) has decided to raise JPY 45 billion (USD 406 million) through a new subordinate loan.According to a stock exchange annoucement, the loan proceeds will be used for the repayment of interest-bearing debts and capital expenditures mainly for vessels.The loan, valid from April 2019 through March 2054, has been agreed with lenders including Mizuho Bank, Development Bank of Japan and Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank."In addition to the business structural reforms set forth in the announcement dated March 7, 2019, the K Line  group has been developing its core businesses through the ongoing rebuilding portfolio strategy, with an aim to expand the stable income business and achieve a sustainable growth.

Brazilian construction conglomerate Odebrecht is looking to dispose of its entire stake in Colombia's Magdalena River navigability project, as the company battles corruption allegations across Latin America, an official told Reuters. Odebrecht had last year planned to give up most of its 87 percent stake in the Navelena consortium, tasked with the 2.5 trillion peso ($854 million) effort to increase cargo capacity on the river, sending the government on a fruitless months-long search for a replacement. But the company later decided to keep a majority of its share after Japan's Sumitomo Mitsui bank said it would finance $250 million of the project.

Royal Bank of Scotland has put its portfolio of Turkish shipping loans up for sale, in the latest move by the state-backed bank to exit this troubled sector and cut overall losses through asset sales, two sources told Reuters. RBS, which has not made an annual profit since 2007, is restructuring under chief executive Ross McEwan and is looking to offload its entire shipping loans business to shore up its capital and avoid more losses on distressed debt. The sources, who declined to be identified, told Reuters the bank was looking to sell between $200 million to $500 million worth of Turkish-related shipping loans. RBS, which reported 2.05 billion pounds ($2.66 billion) of losses for the first half of 2016, declined to comment.

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. today announced that the company has received the highest rating for SMBC Sustainability Assessment Loans from Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation. The loan program evaluates corporate actions such as disclosure of environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) information and initiatives on sustainability, based on unique assessment criteria developed by Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and Japan Research Institute, Limited, and sets loan conditions based on the results the evaluation. MOL earned high marks for its comprehensive information disclosure, and sustainability, which generally refers to…

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has agreed to provide EUR 165 million (187.5m) to support the construction of a new sea lock at IJmuiden, the principal access to the Dutch Port of Amsterdam. The current Noordersluis lock was built in 1929 and the new larger lock will ensure that the next generation of bulk carriers, container ships and cruise ships can continue to access the Port of Amsterdam and the North Sea Canal, and is expected to reduce waiting time for ships. The new sea lock will be 500 meters long, 70 meters wide and 18 meters deep, and able to operate in all tides. The IJmuiden sea lock is expected to support economic activity both along the North Sea canal and for companies using the Port of Amsterdam, Europe’s fourth busiest port.

Indonesia Port Corporations (IPC) or PT Pelabuhan Indonesia (Pelindo) II, Indonesia’s state-owned port operator is to build 22 ports in the country in the next five years for an anticipated cost of around $3.5 billion. “We are targeting to build 22 ports from Belawan to Sorong within five years,” Pelindo II chief executive Richard Joost Lino said. The Indonesian port projects are to be financed by cash and loans and once completed each will have a capacity of 2.5 million TEUs. As on date, the company has cash reserves of around Rp19.5 trillion from bond issuance, bank loans and internal cash flows. This project is a continuation of Indonesia’s previous decision to seek $7 billion in funding for its ‘Maritime Highway’ initiative.

Gazprom and Sovcomflot named the new state-of-the-art 170,000m³ liquefied natural gas carrier (LNGC) Pskov, after one of the oldest Russian cities. The ship will be chartered to Gazprom Global LNG (GGLNG) under a long-term contract. The LNGC Pskov is the second vessel in a series of high-specification, ice class Atlanticmax LNG carriers that have been specially designed in accordance with Gazprom’s requirements, and will support Gazprom’s global commercial operations in the gas markets. The first LNGC, Velikiy Novgorod, was delivered and entered service in January of this year. The naming ceremony took place at the STX shipyard, South Korea.

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe touted the success of his economic policies on a visit to Brazil on Friday and said it was time for the two nations to expand their trade and investment partnership. On the first visit to Brazil in a decade by a Japanese prime minister, Japanese banks extended $700 million in loans to boost Brazilian soy and corn exports to Japan and build ship platforms for Brazil's burgeoning offshore oil industry. Abe told Brazilian business leaders that Japan has closed a 15-year deflation cycle since his stimulus policies began to kick in and there is great potential to expand trade and investment with Latin America's biggest economy. "With Japan growing again, we can grow with other nations," he said in comments to executives translated by an interpreter.

International law firm Watson, Farley & Williams Asia Practice LLP (WFW) said it advised a joint venture involving M3nergy and PT Transamudra as sponsors on a $182 million term facility and $38.4 million guarantee facility. The funds will finance the floating production, storage and offloading facility named FPSO Ratu Nusantara. The FPSO Ratu Nusantara is scheduled for operation by Petronas Carigali in the Bukit Tua oil and gas field in the Ketapang block, offshore Madura Island, East Java, Indonesia. Partner Andrew Nimmo led the WFW Asia Practice team for this deal, assisted by senior associate Shawn Er. M3nergy is an emerging exploration and production company headquartered in Malaysia.

Over the last two years, credit markets have experienced contraction, deleveraging and reduced liquidity, and governments have taken highly significant measures in response to such events. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and other regulators are authorized to take extraordinary actions in the event of market emergencies, and may affect changes in law or interpretations of existing laws. Shipping Finance has evolved with commercial market trends. Today, in response to asset value reduction, the sector requires bullish resilience - assessing the market outlook, exploring the latest capital raising methods and evaluating the emerging business models.

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL) announced that the company determined the terms and conditions for the issuance of its 13th series of unsecured bonds (with inter-bond pari passu clause) on December 11, 2009, and completed the issuance and payment on December 17. When raising funds to bolster business activities, MOL has been focusing on stability of fund procurement and cost competitiveness. Additionally, considering unpredictable financial market conditions since the “Lehman Shock” in 2008, the company has carried forward diversification of procurement methods and lengthening and diversification of procurement period. Based on this policy…

Seaspan Corporation has entered into a credit agreement for a term loan facility in the amount of $235.3m to finance the acquisition of two of its previously acquired 13100 TEU vessels. The facility has been fully underwritten by Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation at a weighted average rate of 0.70% over LIBOR. Since January of 2007, Seaspan has raised more than $2.2b of debt at a weighted average margin of less than 0.60% in support of its strong growth initiatives.

According to a Bloomberg report, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. will double its overseas banking staff that works on financing for ship construction, as Japan's biggest arranger of such deals tries to take advantage of surging demand for vessels. China's appetite for iron ore will boost demand for vessels with cargo capacity of more than 100,000 tons by 44 percent between last year and 2010, according to a report last month by Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd., owner of the world's largest merchant fleet. Corporate lending at Japan's biggest banks contracted 0.7 percent from a year earlier in September, the sixth straight month of declines, a Bank of Japan report showed last month. Sumitomo Mitsui lent $2.7b for ship construction in 2006, according to the U.S. magazine Marine Money.