Okeanis Eco Tankers Corp. Dual Listing – Frequently Asked Questions (last update 05-Dec-2023)

On November 2, 2023, Okeanis Eco Tankers Corp. (the “Company” or “Okeanis”) announced that it had publicly filed a registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), with the intention of establishing a listing on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”), in addition to its current listing on the Oslo Stock Exchange (“OSE”). The information below is intended to provide existing and potential investors with useful information for understanding the implications of this dual-listing and the process by which it will occur.

 

1)  Why is Okeanis listing in the U.S.?

  • By establishing an additional listing in the U.S., Okeanis intends to provide U.S. and other international investors with access to Okeanis’ fleet, commercial performance, and track record of returning value to shareholders, as well as unlock enhanced trading liquidity for existing investors. Our objective is to cultivate the same level of trust and reliability with the US market as we have successfully established within our listing in Oslo.
  • The dual listing further enhances our access to the capital markets, solidifies our position within the industry, and offers the option for accretive transactions in the future.

 

2) What is the expected timeline for the Company’s U.S. listing?

  • The Company’s common shares will be registered with the SEC and expected to be listed for trading on the NYSE (under the ticker “ECO”), in addition to the secondary listing on the OSE (which will remain under the ticker “OET”) from December 11, 2023 (the “US Registration Process”). The US Registration Process includes a temporary trading suspension of Okeanis’ common shares on the OSE, which is anticipated to take place from and including December 7, 2023 to and including December 8, 2023 (the “Trading Suspension”). During the Trading Suspension, the Company will implement an amendment to the registration structure for its common shares, to change the structure so that all common shares will be primarily held and settled within the Depository Trust Company (the “DTC”) in the United States and secondarily held and settled in Euronext Securities Oslo, the Norwegian central securities depository (“VPS”)through a central securities depository link (the “Share Registration Conversion”).
  • The following is an indicative timeline, which is based upon the Company’s current expectations and subject to the SEC declaring the registration statement effective:
    • December 6, 2023: Last day of trading in the Company’s common shares on the OSE prior to the Trading Suspension. All trades done on December 6, 2023 must be executed with regular settlement T+2 or shorter. The Company has requested that the SEC declare the 20-F registration statement filed with the SEC to be effective on this date.
    • December 7, 2023: First trading day of the Trading Suspension in the Company’s common shares on the OSE.
    • December 8, 2023: Second trading day of the Trading Suspension in the Company’s common shares on the OSE. The Share Registration Conversion is expected to be completed after the OSE opening hours.
    • December 11, 2023: Expected end of the Trading Suspension and the Company’s common shares will resume normal trading on the OSE with the same ticker code of “OET”. Expected first day of trading in the Company’s common shares on NYSE with the ticker code of “ECO”.

 

3) What does a dual listing in the U.S. mean for my Okeanis holdings in Oslo?

  • Investors’ registered holdings in VPS, will be amended from a “primary VPS registration” to a “secondary VPS registration” through the Share Registration Conversion, on or about December 11, 2023.
  • Following completion of the Share Registration Conversion, the Company’s common shares will be registered in the Company’s stock ledger in the name of DTC’s nominee, Cede & Co., and DTC will act as the primary securities depository for the common shares. All common shares of the Company will be primarily recorded in the DTC and secondarily recorded in the VPS through a CSD link. DNB Bank ASA, Registrars’ Department (the “VPS Registrar“), will continue to administrate the Company’s VPS register.
  • To facilitate the secondary registration of the common shares in the VPS, the Company will enter into a deposit and registrar agreement with the VPS Registrar. The local agent of Clearstream Banking Luxembourg, Citibank N.A., acting as a custodian of the VPS, is the holder of the primarily registered securities in the DTC pursuant to which the VPS registered shares are derived.

 

4) How will the dual listing impact my ability to receive a distribution either in the form of dividend and/or capital distribution?

  • The dual listing will not impact a holders’ ability to receive a dividend. There is currently no declared but unpaid dividend.
  • Any dividend declared and paid on common shares subsequent to the establishment of the Company’s dual listing, currently anticipated to take place at or around December 11, 2023, will be paid in the typical manner to investors with holdings on either the OSE or the NYSE. Dividends will be denominated in USD and paid in USD to persons whose common shares are registered in DTC, the central securities depository in the United States, and ultimately paid in NOK to persons whose common shares are registered in the VPS. Shareholders whose common shares are registered in the VPS will receive dividends with a two trading day’s delay compared to shareholders whose common shares are registered in DTC as a result of the USD to NOK foreign exchange and distribution process through the CSD-link.

 

5) If I want to transfer my common shares from the OSE to the NYSE, how do I do that?

  • Following the establishment of the dual listing, beneficial holders of the Company’s common shares in the VPS who wish to transfer their common shares to the NYSE need to take two actions:
    • The beneficial holder of the common shares in the VPS must instruct their broker to deliver their common shares to DNB Bank ASA as agent for the cross-border program in the VPS with the request that their common shares be moved directly to the DTC.
    • The beneficial holder of common shares in the VPS must also instruct their broker in the U.S. to formally receive their common shares in the DTC.
    • Failure to complete both steps may result in the transfer being rejected or otherwise not being consummated.

 

6) If I want to transfer my common shares from the NYSE to the OSE, how do I do that?

  • Following the establishment of the dual listing, beneficial holders of common shares in the DTC who wish to transfer their common shares to the OSE need to take two actions:
    • The beneficial holder of common shares in the DTC must instruct their broker to deliver their common shares to the DTC with the request that their common shares be moved to DNB Bank ASA as agent for the cross-border program in the VPS .
    • The beneficial holder of common shares in the DTC must also instruct their broker to formally receive their common shares with DNB Bank ASA in the VPS.
    • Failure to complete both steps may result in the transfer being rejected or otherwise not being consummated.

 

7) How does the dual listing impact the voting rights of shareholders that hold common shares in the VPS?

  • The common shares in the VPS will not carry any direct voting rights in the Company, but beneficial holders in the VPS may instruct the VPS Registrar to vote for, or cause the vote of, their common shares.
  • The Company will furnish voting materials to the VPS Registrar and the VPS Registrar will notify persons that beneficially hold common shares in the VPS of upcoming votes and arrange to deliver the Company’s voting materials to such persons that beneficially hold common shares in the VPS.
  • The VPS Registrar’s notice is expected to describe the information in the voting materials and explain how persons that beneficially hold common shares in the VPS may instruct the VPS Registrar to vote for, or cause the vote of, the underlying common shares.
  • The VPS Registrar will only vote or cause the vote on the instruction of the persons that beneficially hold common shares in the VPS, and will not itself exercise any discretionary voting rights.