Global oil and shipping group, Monjasa, welcomes four new banks in 2019 and increases its overall credit facilities by an additional total of USD 160m. Thereby, Monjasa is ready to meet the anticipated growing working capital requirements arising from IMO 2020.

Monjasa further bolsters its liquidity profile as overall marine fuel prices are expected to increase in connection with the near future IMO 2020 transition towards more environmentally friendly marine fuels.

“Welcoming four dedicated trade finance banks to our existing banking pool re-confirms Monjasa as a robust business partner in 2020 and beyond”

“We are pleased to welcome four dedicated trade finance banks to our existing banking pool, which re-confirms Monjasa as a robust business partner in 2020 and beyond. Besides securing adequate working capital for developing our global activities, we now also have the right financial flexibility to navigate the volatile oil and shipping markets,” says Group Director Legal and Treasury, Rasmus Knudsen.

Regional financing approach

Monjasa has pursued a financing approach matching regional banking expertise with its existing core markets.

“Working with regionally dedicated trade finance banks, which understand the local business contexts by heart, builds additional confidence with our business partners and manifests Monjasa as a safe port in challenging niche markets around the world,” adds Head of Trade Finance, Roger Dekkers.

In 2018, Monjasa already announced collaboration with J.P. Morgan Chase in the US and UBAF in the Middle East and Africa. Since then, both facilities have been extended and so has the credit lines with long-standing European banking partner, Sydbank.

What the banks are looking for

In today’s global shipping markets, access to additional financing increasingly depends on corporate governance and transparency.

Since 2014, Monjasa has made significant investments in corporate governance and an operating model backed by ISO management systems standards. These investments, alongside recent years positive results, are key enablers for this year’s extended facilities.

As a concrete example of such investments, our banking partners have emphasised the end-to-end integration of Lloyds List Intelligence and Dow Jones databases into Monjasa’s ERP platform. This has meant unparalleled due diligence transparency and strict sanctions compliance across Monjasa Group entities.

Solid group equity and solvency ratio

Monjasa’s 2018 Annual Report showed consolidated group equity of USD 121m and a solvency ratio of 29%. This year, Monjasa expects an increasing sales volume and a positive result of the year.