Danish owner Ultrabulk is expected to secure newbuild financing from The Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) for two bulker newbuildings, Japanese media Jiji Express reported.
Under the deal brokered by Mitsui & Co, JBIC plans to provide a total of $28.3m in syndicated loans with French bank BNP Paribas to support Ultrabulk’s newbuiding order of two 38,000 dwt bulk carriers at Imabari Shipbuilding.
Nippon Export and Investment Insurance will provide insurance for the loans, to be extended by BNP Paribas.
The government-affiliated JBIC aims to revive the domestic shipbuilding industry by giving financial support for vessel exports, amid a global slump in shipbuilding and increasing competition from China and South Korea.
According to Japan Exporters’ Association, Japanese shipbuilders concluded ship export contracts for only 95 vessels in 2016, about one-fourth of the numbers concluded in the year before.
