Singapore: DnB NOR, one of the world's leading ship finance institutions, has announced the official launch of a new Asia corporate finance unit in Singapore, to complement existing such DnB NOR units in Oslo and New York.
It is headed by Joachim Skorge, Director, Investment Banking, and adds to the bank's growing portfolio of services to the shipping, transport, logistics and energy sectors across the entire Asia region. Skorge has held various senior positions with DnB NOR for nine years and he joins the Singapore operation from the bank's Investment Banking Division in New York.
DnB NOR Executive Vice President and Head of Global Shipping, Hans Petter Aas, speaking at the official opening of the bank's new, expanded Asia headquarters at 8 Shenton Way (formerly Temasek Tower), said today: "The setting up of Corporate Finance Asia underlines the fact that DnB NOR is regarded as a leading provider of financial solutions and advisory to the global maritime community."
He added that the new corporate finance unit is a long term commitment to the region and will offer a complete range of Investment Banking services to Asian ship owners and to shipping and transport related customers, such as M&A advisory as well as public and private equity and debt capital raising.
"We believe the pace of M&A activity and the number of stock market listings in this region will increase in the next few years which is one of the reasons why we have opened a corporate finance unit in Singapore.
Currently around 10% of DnB NOR's total balance sheet is lending to the shipping sector and if the energy sector is included, that percentage is higher. The bank has in the past 12 months built up an investment banking track record in Asia. The corporate finance team has already closed its first M&A transaction earlier this year acting as the sole financial advisor for the French group CMA CGM in its acquisition of Taiwan's Cheng Lie Navigation. Other transactions include participating in the Initial Public Offering of Pacific Shipping Trust and PT Berlian Laju Tankers TBK in Singapore.
DnB NOR Asia has offices in Singapore, Hong Kong and Shanghai and has a shipping commitment of US$4.3 billion. [27/09/07]
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