[SINGAPORE] Private equity (PE) funds have entered the maritime industry quite rapidly in recent years with the slowdown in bank lending.

However, industry players at the Asia Pacific Maritime 2014 Conference here said that although this trend may continue in the near term, it does not signal a permanent or long- term shift in the sector's financing landscape.

Dimitris Belbas, managing director and head of shipping finance at Seafin in Singapore, said: "We had a record year in 2013 in terms of joint ventures between private equity funds and shipping companies. At the same time, private equity funds are buying into distressed (assets) so you may have the same private equity funds also investing in shipping for asset appreciation."