EMEA News
Environment Will Drive Change in Shipping not Digitalisation, says Top Ship Finance Banker
Environment, sustainability and corporate governance rather than digitalisation will drive change in shipping in the coming years, according to a senior ship financier.
This agenda, referred to as ESG (environmental, sustainability and governance), "is on every companies' agenda", according to Citigroup's ship finance head Michael Parker
Parker was participating in Lloyd's List Outlook 2019 where a range of issues were up for discussion. But Parker pinpointed ESG as the key to change in the shipping industry.
"ESG is more important that digitalisation," Parker said.
The flow of capital coming into shipping has decreased following the financial crash. And the capital that is available is likely to be more keenly priced, he said.
At the same time, owners of finance will want to see a clear a picture of what a company is up to. Transparency will form part of that expectation, the financier added.
