선박투자회사법과 자본시장법에서의 선박펀드비교에 관한 고찰

Ship funds are one of the methods in capital markets to fund for buying ships. There are two types of acts regulating the ship funds, one is Financial Investment Services and Capital Market Act (the “CMA”) and the other is Ship Investment Company Act (the “SICA”). The CMA is enacted in order to forster the financial investment business by contributing to financial innovation while also protecting investors. On the other hand, the SICA is to provide opportunities of investing in ships to the public to activate shipping industry. While the CMA was enacted for the development of the capital market, the SICA was for shipping business. However, due to regulatory arbitrage, the ship funds established under the SICA are being ignored in the capital markets. The ship funds through the CMA can be structured in any form of corporations or investing vehicle except for a joint stock company. Thus, it is possible to make ship funds under the CMA, which are more flexible than ship funds through the SICA. Furthermore, it is not subject to specific operating regulations because it is investing ships. The requirements for establishing a collective investment vehicle are registration, not authorization, so that the degree of entry of the collective investment company is easy. Since ship funds are based on making profit through ship chartering and carrying goods, it is critical to better understand ship operation, ocean environment and safety regulation as well as shipping industry. It is dangerous to understand the ship funds as a simple financial investment product. In order to fully utilize the merits of the ship funds established under the SICA, it is highly recommended to seek revitalizing the ship funds by alleviating the requirements of investment vehicle type and offering tax benefit.