Are privately owned shipping companies more successful than public listed ones?

• Main Author: Kam, Wei Jie
• Other Authors: Kenneth Tan Siah-Ann
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2017
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering::Maritime studies
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/70983
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

The shipping ecosystem is made up of an eclectic mixture of privately owned and public listed companies, and the dry bulk industry is no exception to this rule. The shipping downturn has resulted in many dry bulk companies making huge financial losses; and in every crisis, some companies perform better than others. This paper thus takes a fresh perspective by comparing public listed and privately owned dry bulk companies and analysing how the differences in the two ownership have contributed to the success or failure of these companies since their inception. Ultimately, the paper tries to investigate if public listed companies are more successful than privately owned ones, or vice versa. Collection of data comes in three forms: Surveys, Longevity Calculation, and Interviews with senior management of shipping companies. Armed with the information collected from this mix of qualitative and quantitative methodologies, the paper sets to discover the comparison between public listed and privately owned companies, find out the paramount ingredient contributing to the success of a shipping company, and investigate the phenomenon of delisting in the maritime industry. From the research, it is discovered that ownership is not a defining factor that affects the success of a dry bulk company. Instead, the leader who heads the company proves to be the crucial differentiator. Finally, it is unlikely that delisting will be more common for public listed dry bulk companies in the future.