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Live from Posidonia

Japan providing financing for Greek owners ordering at its shipyards

Japan providing financing for Greek owners ordering at its shipyards
Japan is providing financing for Greek shipowners who want to order at the country’s yards through Japan Bank International Cooperation (JBIC).

Speaking at the Japan – Posidonia 2014 Seminar Shinichiro Otsubo director of the shipbuilding and ship machinery division of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) said that one of the advantages of working with Japanese shipyards was availability of attractive financing from JBIC. “Japan can provide not only high-quality ships and technology but also attractive financing for shipowners,” he said.

From 2011 vessels ordered at Japanese yards registered in developed countries including Greece became eligible for JBIC financing.

However, Otsubo said he had heard complaints that financing direct from JBIC could only be obtained by public listed companies.

A solution to this for Greek private family owners was a two-step process where JBIC lends to a local bank or financial institution in a foreign country where the shipowner is from, which in turn then lends to the shipowner. He said this process had already been used with shipowners in Turkey ordering at Japanese yards.

“This will pave the way for Greek owners who have not ordered before from Japanese yards,” Otsubo said.