How close is the entry of Greek shipping to the ASE

A multi-year… flirtation of the Greek stock market towards Greek shipping, which is the leading naval power in the world, seems to be beginning to succeed.

A shipping company may not yet be listed on the Greek stock market, but large shipping companies with Greek interests are approaching the Greek market through the issuance of major bond issues. Several actors of the Greek capital market estimate that we may soon have shares of shipping companies listed on the A.E.

It is recalled that Costamare, owned by Kostis Konstantakopoulos, was the first Greek shipping company to issue a bond on the Athens Stock Exchange, raising 100 million euros, in May 2021.

CPLP Shipping, owned by Vangelis Marinaki, followed Costamare and introduced a bond through the Greek capital market, from which it raised 150 million euros in October 2021 and proceeded to issue a second bond of 100 million euros in July 2022.

In February 2022, the 100 million euro bond was issued by Safe Bulkers, owned by P. Chatziioannou.

However, through bond issues, they have the opportunity to get in touch with the investing public, before proceeding with the issue of shares, carrying out a capital increase.

A lot of ink has been spilled over the last twenty years on the issue of the entry of Greek ocean shipping into the Greek stock market.

Despite the efforts made by the Capital Market administrations in the last 20 years by adjusting the institutional framework, the Greek shipowners have not carried out any listing of their companies on the domestic stock market.

In the distant 1998, the late Theodoros Karatzas, then head of the National Bank, with the blessings of the then government, had drawn up a plan for the entry of ocean shipping into the Greek stock market, and many at the time estimated that the shipowners would sail to the then Sofokleous. But to no avail.

In 2008, a new attempt was made by the then president of A.A. Spyros Kapralos in collaboration with the then Minister of Shipping G. Voulgarakis. The Capital Market Commission even changed the regulations of the Stock Exchange with the aim of achieving even the secondary listing of shares of shipping companies on the Greek stock exchange.

The new regulation provided for: the uniform treatment of all categories of shipping companies regardless of the type of ships they manage, i.e. passenger ships, Mediterranean, seafaring uniform financial criteria for the introduction of shipping companies with the other sectors of companies listed on the XA is given at the same time the ability to enter shipping in any category of XA, main or alternative.

But not even a secondary import of shipping products was noted in the Greek market.

At the end of July 2022, the vice-president of the HEXA Group, Alexios Pilavios, on the occasion of the issuance of a corporate bond of 100 million euros by CPLP SHIPPING HOLDINGS PLC, invited the companies of the ocean shipping to put their shares on the Stock Exchange.

Apart from the imperfections of the institutional framework for the entry of shipping companies into the stock market, the Greek market was and is shallow, in relation to the major international stock exchanges, and could not raise large capital increases which, due to their size, shipping companies would proceed with companies. The Greek market can hardly bear the “burden” of the capitalization of shipping companies.

But the lack of investment culture was also an obstacle, as indirectly but clearly hinted by the late captain Vassilis Konstantakopoulos, declaring: “We have to think carefully about it (for ocean shipping to enter the A.E.) because there is a risk of a possible big drop in people who entrusted us with their money, to accuse us of stealing their money”.

Greek shipping companies on the American stock market

The fleet of the 24 Greek-owned listed companies in 2021 consisted of 819 vessels with a total tonnage of 75.2 million dwt.

The listed shipping companies of Greek interests on the American stock exchange are the following: Star Bulk Carriers (Petros Pappas), Costamare (Kostis Konstantakopoulos), Danaos Corporation (G. Koustas), Navios Maritime Partners (Aggeliki Fragou), Global Ship Lease (G. Giouroukos) , Dorian LPG (G.i Hatzipateras), Safe Bulkers (P. Hatziioannou), Diana Shipping (Palios family), Capital Product Partners (E. Marinakis), GasLog Partners (Peter Livanos), Tsakos Energy Navigation (N. Tsakos) Seanergy Maritime Holdings (Stamatis Tsantanis), Castor Maritime (P. Panagiotidis),

Euroseas (Pitta family), Dynagas LNG Partners (G. Prokopiou), Eurodry (Aristidis Pittas), StealthGas (Haris Vafias), Navios Maritime Holdings (Angeliki Fragou), Imperial Petroleum (Haris Vafias), Globus Maritime Limited (Fiidakis family), Top Ships (E. Pistiolis), Pyxis Tankers (Valentios Valentis), OceanPal (Semiramis Paleou) and Performance Shipping (Palio family).

Source: AMPE