Business Maktoob reported that the credit environment in the Arabian Gulf for the maritime industry is expected to remain tight for some time with name lending a thing of the past.

Mr Oliver Ebner senior manager of project and structured finance for the National Bank of Abu Dhabi said that “Liquidity has come back to some extent. However, shipping with its long tenors falls right into the banks funding mismatch of mainly short term deposits versus long term loans.”

Mr Ebner said that pure asset risk is proving difficult to get approved. He said that ‘Structures are getting tighter and must be done at arm's length. Name lending is a thing of the past at least for the time being.”

Mr Ebner is one of a panel of speakers lined up to address a special session on financing the industry in the global economic slowdown at Middle East Money & Ships, the region's premier networking event for senior executives from the maritime and finance sectors.

The conference from October 7th to 8th October 2009 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel of Dubai will also assess the continued appetite for investment in shipping, the likely pattern for recovery where the money will come from as well as providing a realistic assessment of the current order book.

The Gulf Cooperation Council countries which control 45% of the world's proven oil deposits have 35 major seaports, some of which have been undergoing aggressive expansion to cope with previously growing demand. However, the International Monetary Fund said that in May world trade in goods and services would contract 11% in 2009 and remain flat in 2010.

(Sourced from business.maktoob.com)