10 shipping congress maritime economies

The work of the 10th Maritime Conference, co-organized by the Maritime Economies newspaper and the Institute of Maritime & Economic Studies, on Wednesday 10/1/2018 at the War Museum, was concluded with particular success.
Shipping Finance & Capital Markets
Shipping as Private or Listed? The Shipping Finance Alternatives in 2018

Our conference was addressed to the entire Maritime industry. Invited again this time were shipowners, executives of major shipping companies, finance managers of shipping companies, executives of oil companies, executives of stock exchanges and banks, distinguished representatives of the business community, international analysts, Greek and foreign journalists, students of maritime and economic studies, etc. etc.

The conference was divided into 2 sections:
1st Session: Shipping & Capital Markets. Does it work?

The invited speakers from the field of shipping companies listed on international stock exchanges and non-listed shipping companies, were led to a fruitful debate with the central theme "Is it worth a shipping company to be listed today or not?"

As the journalist Minas Tsamopoulos from the newspaper PROTO THEMA pointed out, the issue of whether listed companies are in an advantageous position compared to private shipping companies in terms of their financing was the subject of discussion in the first session.

The coordinator of the first session and banker Giorgos Xiradakis, president and CEO of XRTC, presented data on listed and private shipping companies of Greek interest.

"Regarding shipping funding and on the occasion of the conference at the War Museum, I tell you that we are in a war environment as shipping. Perhaps it would be better to say that we are in a scene immediately after the end of a war where we see around us bombed buildings smoking after the fire" he emphasized and added:

"At the international level, government agencies cannot support shipping. Bank loans remain the main source of funding. The Chinese are coming in strong. We do not see a recovery in the withdrawal of funds from the money markets. We do not have possible public registrations of companies. The flourishing of shipping markets starts with those who know how to invest in Shipping and these are the Scandinavians.

The speakers came to the general conclusion that no distinction can be made between listed and unlisted companies as far as funding is concerned.

Each side has pros and cons. After all, many groups have both listed and private companies.

We gather their opinions:

 Private companies invest in shipyards and assets for which there is no liquidity from the first moment.
 The wave of IPOs of shipping companies that we saw in the two years 2006-2008 is difficult to repeat. And it will be even more difficult for small companies to enter the US stock market in particular.
 US investors invest in shipping stocks to get steady dividend income.
 We use all forms of lending. Through banks, raising funds from common or preferred shares.
 Being a listed company has many benefits of raising capital but there are also many pitfalls.
 The environment for US listed companies has been volatile this year and especially for tanker companies. Investor interest waned as oil prices plummeted.
 Unfortunately, we have not yet seen a recovery in investment interest.
 The point is to clearly define the factors that attract investors.
 We are all judged by risk assessment.
 We need to attract and retain investors.
 Many listed companies advertise their high dividend yield. But they borrow at high interest rates of 8%-12%. How will this model be sustainable?
 Some buy stocks low to sell when the price rises. They are the ones who "pay for it" in the end.

The speakers in this Session were:

Coordinator: George Xiradakis, President, XRTC and Propeller club of Piraeus

Mr. Jerry Kalogiratos, CEO of Capital Product Partners

Mr. Valentios (Eddie) Valentis, CEO of Pyxis Tankers

Mr. Spyros Capralos, ceo OF Ocean Bulk containers

Mr. Harris Kosmatos, Corporate Development Officer, of Tsakos EnergyMr. Harris Kosmatos, Corporate Development Officer, of Tsakos Energy

Dr. Kostas Rokkos Chairman – CEO of TST International Shipping S.A.

Mr. George Kofinakos, Senior Representative of Storm Harbor London FinanceMr. George Kofinakos, Senior Representative of Storm Harbor London Finance
2nd Session: Shipping Finance, Terms & Alternatives.

The invited speakers from the field of International and domestic Shipping Banks, on a panel that included shipping economists and lawyers with experience

shipping finance.

The speakers in this Session were:

Coordinator: Mr. Gerasimos Zolotas, Analyst & Consultant at EUROFIN

Mr. Vasillios Maroulis, Head of Greek Shipping, Citi

Mr. Dimitrios Anagnostopoulos, Board Member & Director at Aegean Baltic Bank S.A

Mr. Vassilios Mantzavinos Head of Global Shipping Athens at UniCredit Bank AG

Mr. Dimitrios Zouzoukis, Senior Vice President – ​​CEO, Hellenic Branch at FIM Bank plc

Mr. Ted Petropoulos, head of Petrofin Research

Mr. Christos Timagenis Partner at Timagenis Law Firm

Mrs. Katerina Stathopoulou, Executive Director at Investment & Finance

The lack of bank financing was the main point of discussion. Bankers explained why the future in bank finance remains bleak, emphasizing the fact that continued tough regulations are expected to shrink the availability of smart money.

The criteria by which banks will evaluate companies and the eternal dilemma of whether a family-owned shipping company is a preferable customer to a large impersonal but well-capitalized listed company, became the cause of fruitful confrontations and productive debate.

The closing of the proceedings was followed by a Light Networking Lunch where delegates, sponsors and speakers joined in a large Public relations forum.

We sincerely thank our 16 speakers, our 43 sponsors and especially the 624 delegates who shared proportionally in both sessions, making the 455 seat room seem small for such a conference.