Oslo Børs casts its net

The Oslo stock exchange is one of the leading markets for maritime company public listings, with its strong maritime background and pool of knowledgeable investors. There are more than 20 shipping companies listed there, plus over 50 energy sector companies that include offshore support vessel and drillship operators and other maritime companies such as suppliers of equipment and services. The large majority are Norwegian companies, or companies with Norwegian interests, but the Oslo Børs has been seeking to attract more international companies to take advantage of its maritime specialism.

There have been some de-listings this year, for various reasons. Green Reefers has been acquired by its main shareholder. Sevan Drilling has switched from the Oslo Axess market to the main Oslo Børs.

The second biggest share issue in the first half of 2012 on the Oslo Børs was by Høegh LNG Holdings, which raised some NKr1.2 billion (US$190 million), while Norwegian Car Carriers raised NKr120 million (US$19 million), Northern Offshore NKr44 million (US$7 million), and Dockwise just under NKr24 million (US$4 million).

Rig operator Songa Offshore raised US$110 million in a private placement that was significantly oversubscribed.

Oslo Børs has recently introduced a new fast-track listing process, halving the normal time for admission to a listing from eight weeks to just four weeks, allowing companies to take advantage of what in the current financial climate could be extremely short windows of opportunity to raise equity capital. The exchange says that it is responding to market requests by introducing this more rapid time to market.

The change does not reduce the steps required nor the safeguards to ensure that companies meet its criteria for suitability for listing.

Banks stay in front

Nordic banks are among the global leading players in providing loan finance for the shipping and offshore industry. The recently rebranded DNB, and Nordea, consistently top the league tables compiled by Dealogic of leading providers of syndicated loans to the shipping and offshore sectors, although there are now fewer potential takers among other banks to participate in the syndicates they lead. Both institutions are among the handful of international banks still actively granting new shipping loans.

At the end of 2011, DNB had a maritime loan portfolio of US$28.5 billion, ranking it second among global shipping banks, with Nordea not far behind at US$19.5 billion.

As mainstream shipping continues to struggle, a great deal of the focus for the banks is on the still booming offshore sector. At the Annual Offshore Support Journal Conference in February, Tom Kuhnle, senior vice-president, shipping, offshore and oil services at Nordea, said that the highly capital intensive nature of the offshore support industry means that it requires substantial funds for investment in new vessels. Moving into deepwater exploration and production will need even higher capital investment.

Mr Kuhnle commented that the solid outlook for the offshore industry will help companies to secure funding but reduced banking capacity and tighter lending terms might force companies to raise some capital from other sources such as bonds, and convertible bonds and from export credit agencies, which are playing an increasing role in filling the gap left by reduced bank lending.NS