Woon Aw Yong, senior vice president for HSH Nordbank in Singapore, says the city state remains one of the key maritime hubs in Asia, despite fierce competition from other centres.
“Singapore has managed to attract maritime companies ranging from shipowners to bankers, brokers, lawyers and port agencies from all over the world to set up operations locally,” he says.
“I also see tremendous support from the Singaporean government to maintain and strengthen this valuable maritime community network.”
ING's Rob Heijliger welcomes the efforts that Singapore has been making to enhance the technical development of the shipping industry.
“Digitalisation is going to be the biggest thing that is going to change the industry," he says. "Ships that are very modern are still carrying the same paper trail as ships 50 years ago.
“Digital platforms are being developed to do away with this paper trail, and Singapore is proving to be a great incubator in this respect.
"It will provide opportunities for financial providers to assist in the development of such platforms.”
BNP Paribas’ Nicolas Parrot, who has been in the Lion City for 15 years, says he is also impressed by the efforts made by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA).
“For me, what has been significant for the financing sector in Singapore in the last few years has been the development of the shipping ecosystem, supported by the government,” he says.
“The MPA has a variety of different programmes focusing on all aspects of the shipping industry. They look at the port, traffic control, the training of talents. They look at everything.
“For us, being in Singapore, we like the ecosystem that is being developed. You have all aspects of the industry located here, which as a bank gives us confidence and that helps our business a lot.”
However, while the government-driven initiatives in Singapore are a big pull, Parrot has not placed all his eggs in one basket.
“Several years ago, we made the choice of having two teams of the same size — one in Hong Kong and one in Singapore,” he says.
“For instance, in Hong Kong, the client base of shipowners is quite diverse. There is more granularity and, if you look at the number of clients, there are more of them in Hong Kong.
"So for us, we are happy that we have enough critical mass to have two teams. You need to be in both markets.”
When it comes to hiring staff, shipping banks in Singapore tend to fare better than most other maritime industry sectors, which have struggled with recruitment.
“Ship finance is a highly specialised sector and the right person needs to first have a passion for banking, as well as shipping,” HSH Nordbank’s Woon says.
“Singapore, being both a key banking and maritime hub, will naturally attract a pool of young talents into this segment.”
However, Woon adds that he would like to see more industry veterans provide advice and guidance to this new generation of shipping financiers.
