While visitors to the exhibition at the Marina Bay Sands Expo & Convention Centre continued to click through the gates this morning, delegates in the Ship Finance session were hearing a discussion on the current state of the global market.
Chaired by Harald Serck-Hanssen, Group Executive Vice President, Head of Large Corporates & International, DNB Bank ASA, the session heard a senior panel of speakers discuss the supply and demand equation in the sector.
More than 200 delegates attended the morning session which addressed the central questions: does the current shipping cycle differ from the past and is there a paradigm shift in shipping finance?
A leading owner, Coco Vroon of Vroon B.V. called on banks to stop supporting what he called "weak companies" and for a rationalization among shipping banks.
He said the problem banks had was they refused to accept losses and "take their medicine". This had led to an oversupply and low rates prevalent in the market now with bad companies being kept afloat, which had depressed the market, he said.
In defence of banks, BNP Paribas Asia Head of Shipping and Offshore Finance Arnold Wu said the lending institutions were "naturally averse" to foreclosures on ships because they were much harder to do. Unlike in the housing market, foreclosing on a ship was "a painful and difficult exercise", he said.
Also speaking at the finance session this morning were Mario Béhé, Managing Director, Global Co-Head Ship Finance, Credit Suisse AG, Chen Bin, Deputy General Manager, Transport Finance department, the Export-Import Bank of China, Khalid Hashim, Managing Director, Precious Shipping Ltd, and Hong Kong and Yang Chang-kun, Managing Director, Shipping, ICBC Leasing.
Sea Asia 2013 has so far been an enticing combination of top-level discussions in the conference, dealing and networking in the exhibition, and exciting social receptions. There is something for every sector of the diverse global industry.
The event, which articulates the voice of the Asian maritime communities, has captured the imagination of the global shipping community. It was officially opened yesterday (April 9) by Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam.
Co-organisers Seatrade said this morning that Day Two of Sea Asia 2013 continues to exceed expectations in terms of the number of participants and feedback received. More than 14,000 people are expected to attend the conference and exhibition across its three days.
Sea Asia 2013 occupies almost 17,000 sqm of gross space at Marina Bay Sands Expo & Convention Centre in an exhibition of 385 maritime businesses from 36 countries. There are country pavilions from China, Holland, Japan, Korea, Norway, Panama, Qatar, Singapore and the UK.