上市對船東的影響

很多公司都把上作為目標，甚至是終極目標。但上市對企業來說實際上只是換一種活法而已，生活還將繼續，而且會以一種不同的方式繼續。 [2]

… an initial public offering is not only a milestone, it is also the entrance into a new stage – life as a public company – that possesses its own unique opportunities, risks and challenges. Some of those opportunities, such as opening a door to liquidity for investors, can be achieved in other ways, such as with a sale or private equity recapitalization of a company. In choosing to pursue an initial public offering, a company's board and executive officers should analyze the relevant considerations, and weigh the advantages and disadvantages carefully in light of the company's particular circumstances.

上市后的船東很快就會發現自己受到了比較嚴格的管制，在面對瞬息萬變的市場作出及時行動不如以前那么敏捷了。董事會和管理層會不由自主地關心市場和股民對自己任何行動措施的反應，開始了極不自在的為股價而奮斗的歷程。他們必須開動腦經，搜腸刮肚，抖出渾身解數增加公司的盈利。這種心態幾乎注定會影響船東作出正確的經營或投資決定。

雖然上市公司的地位為自己的市場形象增色不少，但為此支付的代價是任何風吹草動都將迅速成為人們飯后茶余的談資。在股市上，除非能夠不停地交出令公眾滿意的經營成績，否則不可能得到市場的普遍認可。然而，除非船東已經實現了業務的多元化，否則持續交出令人滿意的成績只是天方夜譚而已。不妨看一下當今在上市公司之列的船東就能發現，很少有船東可以借助上市公司的地位在航運市場獲得明顯的額外優勢和利益。Ship Finance一書這樣寫道： [3]

Shipping, it should be remembered, has until recently relied almost exclusively on commercial bank financing for its external capital needs. Its relations with the public equity markets have been strained and punctuated by scandals and corporate collapses. For an industry of its size, it contains, relatively few major public corporations, and therefore its access to the corporate debt markets has been quite limited.