Ship finance meet February 3 deals with boxes in early session

THE 3rd Annual Shipping Finance Asia 2010 conference will be held at the Marina Mandarin Hotel in Singapore from Wednesday February 3 - 4 to focus on developing strategies on raising capital, strengthening balance sheets and resolving contractual disputes for long term business continuity and competitiveness.

Themes for Shipping Finance Asia will be assessing the market outlook and business opportunities in the four shipping sectors, containers, dry bulk, liquid bulk and offshore; exploring the latest capital raising methods and alternative funding options in a tight credit market; evaluating the new and emerging business models being adopted by shipowners in response to asset value reduction and uncertainties for the shipping industry and understanding the implications of restructuring shipping loans, default cases and court protection issues for the entire shipping value chain.

Speakers include shipowners Khalid Hashim, managing director, Precious Shipping Public Co; Romi Kaushal, CEO, Emirates Shipping Line; Hassan Basma, CEO, Bumi Armada Berhad and Randy Effendi, executive chairman and CEO Samudera Shipping Line.

A welcoming speech will be given at 8.50am Wednesday February 3 by conference chairman Janos Koenig, co-founder and CFO of Eurofin International Ltd, to be followed by a discussion on the shipping industry outlook Matthias Umlauf, senior economist, HSH Nordbank.

At 9.25am, the focus will turn to container shipping with a panel discussion on market analysis, evaluation of funding sources, survival strategies and business opportunities; expected developments in vessel demand and supply, and strategies to achieve future demand/supply balance, assessing the outlook for international and intra-Asian major liner trades; funding the container shipping sector over the next 12 months; exploring financiers' appetite to lend; the sharp decline in demand and prices; overcoming the challenges and identifying new opportunities; overcoming challenges and identifying new opportunities posed by the sharp demand and prices and minimising losses for containership operators, cargo interests, ports and terminals.

Container session panellists will be Mr Effendi, of Samudera; Romi Kaushal, CEO of Emirates Shipping Line; Randy Chen, special assistant to the president of Wan Hai Lines Limited and Hwi Chang Lim, finance manager of Hanjin Shipping Co Ltd.

At 10.15am there will be a speed networking session followed by a tea break. The rest of the morning and next day will deal with dry and liquid bulk shipping, and more detailed discussion on ship finance.

For more information, visit http://www.shipping-finance.com/Event.aspx?id=217802