The board of directors of the Association of Banking & Finance Executives of Hellenic Shipping met with high-ranking officials of the Korea Shipowners’ Association (KSA) and the Korea Institute of Public Finance (KIPF).
Kyong-hoon Kim, Director KSA and Jonghwa LEE, Deputy General Manager KSA attended on behalf of the Korea Shipowners Association, while Dr. Byung-jin HONG, Senior Researcher of KIPF.
The meeting, attended by all the members of the Board of Directors, in the presence of the honorary president of the Association, was held at the Piraeus Maritime Club.
The meeting, attended by all the members of the Board of Directors, in the presence of the honorary president of the Union, was held at the Piraeus Maritime Club.
The Korean Shipowners’ Association knows Greek Shipping mainly through the construction of ships by Greek shipowners in their country’s shipyards, and with this meeting they were given an excellent opportunity to learn about the financing and challenges of Greek Shipping.
The president, George Xiradakis, referred to the targets of the Association and made a historical review of the course of financing of Greek shipping. He also referred to the current state of the portfolios of Greek banks, but also the existing alternative forms of financing (listing to foreign Stock Exchanges, Funds, leasing houses) that cover all the needs of the Greek-owned fleet.
The general secretary, Konstantinos Economou, underlined the historically excellent relationship between the two peoples, always having the maritime economy as one of the most important pillars of their development and prosperity. The honorary president, N. Vougioukas, made a special reference to the first constructions of newly built ships in South Korea historically to date by several shipowners and shipping companies of our country, with equity and bank loans from both foreign and Greek banks.
The representatives from Korea stressed the need for Korea’s extroversion and interconnection with Greek shipping while they showed great interest in the terms and financial tools offered by Greek banks, the trends in international competition, but also the new challenges for the “green” transition of the market.
Finally, Xiradakis underlined the importance of exploiting the synergies between Greece and South Korea, in strengthening the manufacturing sector of ships, the renewal of our country’s coastal fleet and the development of joint financial tools.
