Finance: Banking

The Shanghai Petroleum and Natural Gas Exchange (SHPGX) will launch an international LNG ship and cargo tender service by the end of this month.

Dry bulk shipowner Safe Bulkers (SB) announced that it was initiating a programme for issuing up to $23.5 million of shares, at the market, sometimes called an “ATM” offering.

At the beginning of 2020 lending to shipping by the world’s top 40 ship financers was at its lowest level in more than a decade and global ship finance is expected to remain constrained in 2020/2021 in the absence of new positive factors.

Dutch-based international maritime contractor Van Oord has signed its first Green Loans with Rabobank and BNP.

Ailing Indian shipowner Mercator Limited is being stalled in its effort to sell off two medium-range tankers in an effort to pare its debt and remain solvent.

Piraeus Bank, the leading and longstanding domestic lender to Greek shipping, has teamed up with Japanese finance house, Orix Group to provide loans to Greek shipowners.