Shipyards' funding need to get more acute with bigger projects

Clifford Capital, which provides financing for the maritime sector, says some banks are withdrawing from the sector altogether

Published Fri, Mar 27, 2020 · 09:50 PM

Singapore

SINGAPORE shipyards' need for financing support for projects will become more acute as projects get larger and Basel III capital requirements for banks get stricter, said Audra Low, head of origination and structuring at Clifford Capital, a company majority owned by Temasek Holdings which provides structured finance solutions for the infrastructure and maritime sectors.

Ms Low noted that with increasing cost of capital brought about by stiffer banking regulations, some banks have shied away from extending long tenor financing of 10 years or more.

"What's worse is that in the offshore & marine sector, ever since the downturn, banks have also become very much more restrained …