Nicolas Bornozis, Captain Panagiotis N Tsakos and Prof. Costas Grammenos
CAPITAL LINK’S 4TH ANNUAL GREEK SHIPPING FORUM DRAWS 950 DELEGATES
More than 950 delegates attended Capital Link’s 4th Annual Greek Shipping Forum “Navigating through Challenges & Opportunities” which took place on Wednesday, February 27, 2013 at the Hilton Hotel in Athens, Greece. Capital Link is organizing on an annual basis Shipping Forums in New York and London, where listed shipping companies, bankers and analysts address the international investment community, while at the Athens Forum the international financial community and market experts address the Greek and international shipping industry.
ORGANIZERS
The Forum was organized by Capital Link, a New York based Investor Relations and Financial Communications firm, which amongst other specializes in the shipping sector, working with the majority of shipping companies listed in the European and US Stock Exchanges. The Athens Forum was organized in cooperation with NYSE Euronext and NASDAQ.
SUPPORTING ORGANIZATIONS
Traditionally Capital Link cooperates with a number of industry organizations which contribute to the success of the events. This year’s Supporting Organizations included the Association of Banking and Financial Executives of Hellenic Shipping, the Cass Business School, the Greek Shipping Co-operation Committee, the Hellenic Chamber of Shipping, the Hellenic Shipbrokers Associations, the Hellenic Shortsea Shipowners Association, the International Propeller Club of the United States – Port of Piraeus, the Piraeus Association for Maritime Arbitration, the Piraeus Marine Club and WISTA Hellas.
FORUM OVERVIEW & OBJECTIVE
The Forum discussed the latest developments and trends in international trade, dry bulk commodities, and the energy markets-framed against the broader backdrop of the global economy-but also reviewed the various funding alternatives for raising capital among listed and private shipping companies. Experts additionally addressed effective investment strategies and risk management in today’s shipping industry. Capital Link’s President, Mr. Nicolas Bornozis mentioned that weak shipping markers present significant challenges but also unique opportunities and that access to capital is a critical competitive advantage particularly in today’s market conditions. Capital Link’s Forums aim to raise the profile of shipping to a wider audience while presenting unique informational and networking opportunities.
Jasel Chauhan, Dagfinn Lunde, Shreyas Chipalkatty and George Arkadis
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
H.E. Konstantinos Moussouroulis, Minister of Shipping, Maritime Affairs & the Aegean, made brief remarks during the Luncheon.
Mr. John Platsidakis, Chairman, INTERCARGO was the Keynote Speaker at the Luncheon, and addressed the audience on “Navigating Through Challenges and Opportunities”.
CAPITAL LINK SHIPPING LEADERSHIP AWARD – HONORING CAPTAIN PANAGIOTIS N. TSAKOS
This year we initiated the “Capital Link Shipping Leadership Award”, which aims to recognize the patriarchs of Greek Shipping, those pioneers who over a long period of time made a significant contribution to elevating Greek Shipping to its leadership position globally. The Award is presented in the context of the Forum.
The “Capital Link Shipping Leadership Award”, was presented to Captain Panagiotis N. Tsakos, a patriarch in the Greek shipping community, by Professor Costas Grammenos, Pro Vice-Chancellor, City University London, Cass Business School during the luncheon.
TOPICS AND PRESENTATIONS
Mr. Nathanael Mauclair, Managing Director, International Listings, NYSE Euronext and Ms. Isabella Schidrich, Senior Managing Director – NASDAQ OMX made the Introductory Remarks.
Throughout the day, there were presentations from the following:
Mrs. Aline Schuiling, Senior Eurozone Economist, ABN AMRO presented on « Global Economic Outlook». Professor Elias Karakitsos, Chairman – Global Economic Research (LLC) and Director & Partner – Twintop Consultants presented on « Outlook for the Dry & Wet Shipping Markets & Global Commodities».
Dr. Anil Sharma, Founder, President & CEO – Global Marketing System presented on « Ship Recycling in Today’s Market Conditions».
Mr. Shawn N. Frost, Partner, US Capital Markets – Ernst & Young Greece, presented on «Sustainability as a Competitive Advantage in Shipping»
Maria N. Livanou, Nilimar Sales and Purchase, Capt P.N. Tsakos, Tsakos Shipping and Trading, Irene Notias, Prime Petroleum Services
DISCUSSION PANELS
A series of panel discussion debated critical industry topics, including:
«Shipping & Bank Financing»
Moderator: Mr. Jasel Chauhan , Senior Associate, Ship Finance, Holman Fenwick Willan International LLP
Panelists:
Mr. Dagfinn Lunde, Head of Investment Strategy, Member of the Board of Managing Directors, DVB Bank,
Mr. Shreyas Chipalkatty, Director, Citigroup’s Global Shipping
Mr. George Arcadis, Country Executive and Chief Representative, Energy, Commodities & Transportation – ABN AMRO
«Shipping and the Capital Markets»
Moderator: Mr. Steven Hollander, Counsel, Corporate Group – Watson Farley & Williams
Panelists:
Mr. Nicholas Stillman, Clarkson Investment Services
Mr. Philippe Chryssicopoulos, Managing Director, Head of Shipping EMEA, Merrill Lynch Bank of America Securities
Mr. Albert Ganyushin, Managing Director, NYSE Euronext
Mr. Erik Helberg, Chief Executive Officer – RS Platou Markets AS
«Restructuring: Opportunities for a New Beginning»
Moderator: Mr. Robert G. Burns, Partner, Bracewell & Giuliani Panelists: Mr. Harold Malone, Senior Vice President, Maritime Group – Jefferies & Company, Inc.
Mr. Bassam Latif, Senior Vice President – Moelis & Company
Mr. Salil Shah, Vice President – Goldman Sachs
«Private Equity & Shipping: Closing the Funding Gap & Investing at the Bottom of the Cycle» ?
Moderator: Mr. Emil Yiannopoulos, Partner, Territory Assurance Leader – PwC Greece
Panelists:
Mr. Adrian R. Dacy, Managing Director, Global Real Assets Group – J.P. Morgan
Mr. Hamish Norton, Head of Corporate Development – Oceanbulk Maritime (USA) Inc.
Mr. Sean Durkin, President – Northern Fund Management America LLC
« Analyst Panel»
Moderator: Mr. Nicolas Bornozis, President – Capital Link, Inc.
Panelists:
Mr. Ben Nolan, Director of Shipping Research, Knight Capital Americas, L.P.
Mr. Herman Hildan, Shipping Analyst – RS Platou Markets AS
Mr. Michael Webber, Senior Analyst | Vice President, Equity Research – Global Shipping, Wells Fargo Securities, LLC
GLOBAL SPONSORS
Global Lead Sponsors: ABN AMRO and Tsakos Energy Navigation Ltd (TEN)
• Global Gold Sponsors: DVB Bank
CORPORATE SPONSORS
Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Bracewell & Giuliani, Citi, Clarkson Capital Markets , Credit Suisse, ERNST & YOUNG, GMS, Goldman Sachs, Holman Fenwick Willan International LLP, Jefferies, International Registries, Moelis & Company, PricewaterhouceCoopers, RS Platou Markets, Watson, Farley & Williams, Wells Fargo Securities.
SUPPORTING SPONSORS
Goldenport Holdings Inc., Hellenic Petroleum
MEDIA PARTNERS
The Media Partners of the Forum included: BUSINESS FILE economia.gr, Elnavi, IHT -Kathimerini, Maritech News, www.maritimes.gr, NafsGreen, SHIP to SHORE, Shipping International Monthly Review, Tradewinds και Worldoils.
CONFERENCE MATERIAL
All conference material is available on Capital Link’s website, at: http://forums.capitallink.com/shipping/2013greece
ABOUT CAPITAL LINK
Capital Link is a New York-based Advisory, Investor Relations and Financial Communications firm. Capitalizing on our in-depth knowledge of the shipping industry and capital markets, Capital Link has made a strategic commitment to the shipping industry becoming the largest provider of Investor Relations and Financial Communications services to international shipping companies listed on the US and European Exchanges. Capital Link’s headquarters are in New York with a presence in London and Athens.
In our effort to enhance the information flow to the investment community and contribute to improving investor knowledge of shipping, Capital Link has undertaken a series of initiatives beyond the traditional scope of its investor relations activity, such as:
www.CapitalLinkShipping.com: A web based resource that provides information on the major shipping and stock market indices, as well as on all shipping stocks. It also features an earnings and conference call calendar, industry reports from major industry participants and interviews with CEOs, analysts and other market participants. Weekly Capital Link Markets Report (e-Newsletter): Weekly distribution to an extensive audience in the US & European shipping, financial and investment communities with updates on the shipping markets, the capital markets and listed company news.
www.CapitalLinkWebinars.com: Sector Forums & Webinars: Regularly, we organize panel discussions among CEOs, analysts, bankers and shipping industry participants on the developments in the various shipping sectors (containers, dry bulk, tankers) and on other topics of interest (such as Raising Equity in Shipping Today, Scrapping, etc). Capital Link Investor Shipping Forums: In New York, Athens and London bringing together investors, bankers, financial advisors, listed companies CEOs, analysts, and shipping industry participants.
www.MaritimeIndices.com: Capital Link Maritime Indices: Capital Link developed and maintains a series of stock market maritime indices which track the performance of U.S. listed shipping stocks (CL maritime Index, CL Dry Bulk Index, CL Tanker Index, CL Container Index, CL LNG/LPG Index, CL Mixed Fleet Index, CL Shipping MLP Index – Bloomberg page: CPLI. The Indices are also distributed through the Reuters Newswires and are available on Factset.
