Trafigura to float supertanker arm in first IPO of a business

{"text":[[{"start":7.44,"text":"Trafigura is set to take one of its businesses public for the first time with the listing of its supertanker arm, as the commodities trader seeks to capitalise on record rates caused by the crisis in the Gulf."}],[{"start":19.5,"text":"The group said on Monday that it planned to raise roughly $500mn through a private placement of Volare Shipping ahead of a float on the Oslo Stock Exchange in early October. The proceeds will be invested in building up Volare’s fleet of supertankers to be chartered on the spot market."}],[{"start":36.96,"text":"Andrea Olivi, Trafigura’s head of shipping, said that while the listing was long planned, there had been a “paradigm shift” in the market for very large crude carriers in recent weeks as Middle Eastern oil companies began to buy ships in order to better control their exports."}],[{"start":52.36,"text":"“We think this new trend has just started and will continue to develop in the months and quarters to come. And this is going to translate into a higher floor on earnings and asset prices,” he said."}],[{"start":62.48,"text":"Volare will list with a fleet of six supertankers on the water and a further eight on order. The fleet will be managed by Trafigura, the world’s second-largest oil trader. The company already manages about 500 vessels including 250 tankers as part of its trading activities."}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":80.48,"text":"Tanker owners have enjoyed a bumper year as the US-Israeli strikes on Iran and subsequent near-closure of the Strait of Hormuz drastically shifted energy supply chains, forcing tankers to travel much further to pick up cargoes and thus constraining the number of vessels available for hire."}],[{"start":97,"text":"Last week, tanker rates hit a record high of $1mn a day for voyages in and out of the Gulf, while prices of second-hand and new-build tankers have also hit fresh peaks, in part because ships quickly earn enough to recoup the capital expense."}],[{"start":111.44,"text":"Shipbroker Clarksons said on Friday that while earnings for tankers operating around the strait “remain in a league of their own”, numerous tankers were being booked elsewhere at rates of $800,000 a day."}],[{"start":122.36,"text":"Olivi said market fundamentals for new supertankers would remain strong for several years as the current tanker fleet aged, with many sold into the so-called shadow fleet that carries sanctions-hit Russian and Iranian oil."}],[{"start":135.34,"text":"Another supporting factor was the expected rise in crude exports from countries “far away from Asian refineries”, said Olivi, such as Venezuela, Argentina and Guyana."}],[{"start":145.84,"text":"Despite the high rates, many shipping executives have expressed concern about the high number of new vessels currently on order, leading to fears of overcapacity and a future crash in rates. The current order book is about a third of the size of the fleet on the water."}],[{"start":160.24,"text":"Olivi said the only concern Trafigura had was for the early 2030s when many of the vessels on order would be launched."}],[{"start":167.2,"text":"Theoharrys Kosmatos, chief financial officer of the tanker operator TEN, said at the Capital Link Maritime forum in London last week that he believed the current shift would “define the industry over the next decades”, adding that the need to replenish strategic oil inventories would also support the tanker market in the years to come."}],[{"start":186.02,"text":"This story has been amended to state that Trafigura expects to raise roughly $500mn through the listing"}],[{"start":196.72,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1789981212_2382.mp3"}