Investors turn their backs on shipping amid bulk-carrier woes

Hamburg

PRIVATE equity is turning its back on shipping after a glut of funding over the last five years contributed to overcapacity in the industry, according to Andrian Dacy, the head of JPMorgan Asset Management's global maritime business.

While private-equity firms enjoy returns of as much as 20 per cent in the tanker market, bulk-carrier markets are in a perilous state with the Baltic Dry Index, a measure of commodity shipping costs, hovering near all-time lows as the Chinese economy ebbs, Mr Dacy said.