Japanese finance becomes easier for Greek owners

TIN news:    Japan-GreeceJapan 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, the director of the shipbuilding and ship machinery division of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT), Shinichiro Otsubo, said that one of the advantages of working with Japanese shipyards was availability of attractive financing from JBIC.
 
“Japan can provide not only highquality ships and technology but also attractive financing for shipowners,” Otsubo said.
 
From 2011 vessels ordered at Japanese yards registered in developed countries including Greece became eligible for JBIC financing.
 
However, the ministry official 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.
 
Otsubo 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,” the MLIT official concluded. The fall in the value of the yen versus the dollar over the past year has also served to make newbuilds in Japan more attractive.