Supporting a pillar of the Greek economy

As one of the "Big Four" professional services firms, the member firms of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu play an important role in each of the 150-plus markets in which the firms operate. Deloitte Greece employs 450 professionals with offices in both Athens and Thessaloniki.

Deloitte Greece has provided professional services to the major Greek industries throughout the country for more than three decades. With Greece's legendary maritime history and the country today possessing the world's largest merchant fleet, Deloitte Greece has developed a deep understanding of the shipping industry and continues to build on its expertise.

"Shipping is a pillar of the Greek economy," says George Cambanis, Deloitte's global shipping and ports leader. "We provide professional services to many of the Greek shipping companies that are listed on the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq. Greek companies represent 18 per cent of the European companies listed in the United States, second only to Britain at 24 per cent. Of all shipping companies listed in the US, 52 per cent are Greek. These facts are a testament to the valuable knowledge base that has been built within the Greek shipping industry. We have a community of shipping executives with a deep understanding of the capital markets."

From Athens, Cambanis leads a global shipping and ports network of more than 500 professionals who serve the industry around the world. "Considering that five of the world's busiest container ports are in Asia and the Far East continues to be the growth driver for shipping, we expect our Asia-Pacific network of 136 professionals to grow significantly in the coming years," he says.

While traditional European lenders are saddled with enormous portfolios of shipping loans, Cambanis believes that Sino-Greek relations will continue to strengthen through the growth of Deloitte's network in Asia and further collaboration within ship financing between China and Greece.

"Current values provide Chinese financial institutions with an opportunity to grow their business with Greek shipowners at a time when the industry nears the trough of this down cycle. It is a business we understand and one which Deloitte Greece and our Asia-Pacific member firms will continue to support as we look towards the future," he says.