Wednesday, May 27, 2009

MOL looking for cheap bulk carriers

Mitsui OSK (MOL) says now is the time to buy bulk ships, and they think they can raise the cash to do so.

“We’re willing to spend several tens of billions of yen on an acquisition,” Kenichi Yonetani, a senior managing executive officer at the company, said in an interview in Tokyo yesterday. He declined to elaborate further on possible targets.

Japan’s most profitable shipping line expects to be able to borrow funds as it has avoided the worst of a collapse in commodity-shipping rates by locking in fees through long-term contracts. The rates meltdown, caused by rising capacity and slower Chinese demand for iron ore, has pushed at least four dry-bulk shipping lines into bankruptcy.

“This year is a chance for people who can buy,” Yonetani said. “We don’t see a problem in getting financing from banks to pay for our investment.”

click here for article from Bloomberg

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