Shipping fascinates me. The industry usually quietly carries approximately 80% of all internationally traded good. Tankers reach 400m long and carry loads of $200m+ worth of oil. But the best part of it is the 4D multi-year chess game played across the globe, by an industry that can be as profitable as it is cyclical.
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Key topics discussed
* The math behind 30% returns on $140M assets.
* Managing risk in a highly cyclical, capex-heavy industry.
* Why Japan and China are rebuilding global oil storage.
* The "one-stop shop" model for financial investors in shipping (the Uber of Shipping).
Summary
Pankaj Khanna, CEO of Nasdaq-listed Heidmar, discusses how shipping and freight underpin the global economy, focusing on oil tanker markets. He shares his path from an Indian merchant navy cadet to CEO and 45% owner, and explains Heidmar’s growth since 2019 from six ships and six people to managing 65 vessels across six global offices with 65 staff.
Heidmar is a non-asset-owning, debt-free, “one-stop shop” providing ship acquisition support, financing and corporate setup, technical management (crews, SMS), and commercial management (employment with oil majors and traders enabled by long-standing KYC approvals), earning daily fees and commissions on freight.
The discussion covers spot freight economics, investor types, traders’ roles, shipping cyclicality driven by geopolitics, distance and fleet supply, and Heidmar’s long-term digital platform and AI initiatives to optimize operations, alongside the company’s EBITDA-multiple valuation versus NAV.
Links
Heidmar
https://www.heidmar.com/Pankaj Khanna on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/pankaj-khanna-69746b1/About Investology:A podcast dedicated to investment management intelligence and uncovering new ways to deliver better outcomes for investors. Audio: https://pod.link/the-fintech-filesNewsletter: https://investorama.substack.com/About the Host:George Aliferis, CAIA is the founder of Orama, where he produces content for financial brands and tech companies. Before that, he spent over a decade structuring, marketing and selling complex financial products to institutional clients in Europe and Asia.https://www.linkedin.com/in/george-aliferis/An episode produced by Orama: https://orama.tv/Sales-driven video strategies. Accelerate sales to the financial industry with content that builds trust and drives pipeline.TIMESTAMPS00:00 Pankaj’s Journey to CEO01:20 Heidmar’s Comeback Story04:11 Why Shipping Chose Him06:12 Inside Tanker Management11:06 Investor Returns and Fees17:34 Uber of Shipping Tech Stack22:33 Traders and Market Cycles34:46 Misconceptions about Shipping
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