Box terminal projections face heavy scrutiny

Speaking at the Private Capital and Ports conference, Mr Py said that with most terminals not expected to return to 2008 levels until 2012 at the earliest, port traffic assumptions in the future are likely to be more cautious and less backward looking.

“The era of high and cheap leverage is gone,” said Mr Py.

Dan Clague, managing director, Societe Generale Bank (SG Corporate and Investment Banking), added: “People need to be a lot more imaginative forecasting the downside of an investment in the future.

“There was a lot of reckless lending. People have learnt or are learning some very tough lessons.”

Mr Clague singled out mini perms – short term financing typically for three to five years – as particularly troublesome.

For many ports, these mini perms are coming up for re-financing which is creating a “minor crisis as financing options today are nowhere near what was on offer before”.

 

(Source: Port Strategy)