LOANS ASIA-PACIFICMandated lead arrangers are National Bank
of Kuwait, SPD Silicon Valley Bank, Sumitomo
Mitsui Trust Bank, Bank of Yokohama and
Commonwealth Bank of Australia. Lead
arrangers are Banco Santander, E. Sun
Commercial Bank and CMB Wing Lung Bank.
Arranger is Woori Bank.
Lenders were offered top-level all-in
pricing of 118bp and 105bp respectively,
based on interest margins of 90bp and 95bp
over Libor for tranches A and B.
&UNDSûAREûFORûGENERALûCORPORATEûPURPOSES
4HEûlNANCINGûFOLLOWSûAû53MûTHREE
year Ninja loan in May for Metro Excel, a
WHOLLYûOWNEDûUNITûOFû#$"û&INANCIALû,EASINGû
Mizuho Bank was the sole MLAB of that
transaction, which offered all-in pricing of
low 100s and was also increased from an
initial target of US$200m.
#$"û&INANCIALû,EASINGûISûRATEDû!!!
PING AN LEASING RAISES US$350m0INGû!Nû)NTERNATIONALû&INANCIALû,EASINGûHASû
raised a US$350m three-year loan from four
lenders.
China Construction Bank (Asia) was the sole
mandated lead arranger and bookrunner on
the bullet loan, which offers an interest
margin of 135bp over Libor.
Lead arrangers are Chong Hing Bank,
Shanghai Pudong Development Bank and Tai
Fung Bank.
Lead arrangers joining with US$30m
or more were offered all-in pricing of
170bp over Libor via a 105bp participation
fee.
The borrower is PING AN LEASING HONG KONG
HOLDINGS ûAûWHOLLYûOWNEDûUNITûOFû0!)&, û
while the parent company is the guarantor.
&UNDSûAREûFORûRElNANCINGûANDûGENERALû
corporate purposes.
The borrower’s last visit to the loan
market was in November 2018 for a
HK2.5bn (US$319m) one-year facility.
HONG KONG
SWIRE MAKES GREEN CONVERSIONHong Kong-listed SWIRE PROPERTIES has
CONVERTEDûAû(+Mû53M ûlVE
YEARû
revolving credit facility signed in August
2017 into a sustainability-linked deal.
Credit Agricole CIB is the lender of the deal,
WHICHûISûTHEûCOMPANYSûlRSTûSUSTAINABILITY
linked loan.
Under the new terms, the loan’s interest
rate will be reduced if Swire Properties
maintains its listing on the Dow Jones
Sustainability World Index (DJSI World),
which tracks companies’ economic,
environmental and social performance, and
achieves a reduction target for the energy
use intensity every year for its Hong Kong
portfolio.
The loan is for investments that support
Swire Properties’ sustainability goals,
including adopting energy-saving
technologies and funding green
developments such as Two Taikoo Place, a
redevelopment project that is under
construction in the Quarry Bay district in
Hong Kong.
The Green loan was also developed with
reference to the Sustainability Linked Loan
0RINCIPLESûOFûTHEû!SIA
0ACIlCû,OANû-ARKETû
Association, Loan Market Association and
the Loan Syndications and Trading
Association.
The latest loan follows a US$500m
10-year Green bond issue Swire Properties
completed in January last year. The
bond offering, which was priced at
Treasuries plus 110bp, was the borrower’s
lRSTûGREENûlNANCING û)&2û!SIAûREPORTEDûATû
the time.
Swire Properties, a subsidiary of Hong
+ONG
LISTEDû3WIREû0ACIlC ûDEVELOPS ûMANAGESû
ANDûINVESTSûINûRETAIL ûOFlCEûANDûHOTELû
properties in Hong Kong and China.LEO PAPER SEEKS GREEN LOANPrinting company LEO PAPER GROUP (HONG KONG)
is in discussions with relationship banks for
a new Green loan, nearly a year after
COMPLETINGûAûSIMILARûlNANCING
&UNDSûWILLûBEûUSEDûFORûPROJECTSûINû
Vietnam.
Last September, Leo Paper raised
HK$350m (then US$46m) from a Green loan
that had seven banks participating. They
were Bank of East Asia, BNP Paribas,
Citibank, Hang Seng Bank, HSBC, Mizuho
"ANKûANDû-5&'
Proceeds from that deal fund investments
in green projects in China from 2018 to
2020, including energy conservation,
emission reduction, and waste and waste-
water management projects.
,EOû0APERûWASûTHEûlRSTûPRIVATELYûOWNEDû
Hong Kong company to receive Green
&INANCEû#ERTIlCATIONûFROMûTHEû(ONGû+ONGû
Quality Assurance Agency.
According to LPC data, Leo Paper Group
RAISEDûAû(+MûlVE
YEARûCLUBûLOANûINû*UNEû
2017 from six banks through wholly owned
SUBSIDIARYû,EOû0APERû'ROUPû&INANCEBeijing Automotive eyes loan
for Daimler stake
CHINA Four mandated on borrowing backing 5% stake purchaseChinese state-owned BEIJING AUTOMOTIVE
GROUP has mandated four banks for a €2.2bn-
equivalent (US$2.45bn) three-year loan to
back its acquisition of a 5% stake in German
automaker Daimler.
The mandated lead arrangers, bookrunners
and underwriters are Bank of China, Credit
Agricole CIB, DBS Bank and Natixis. The quartet
pre-funded the deal, which is available in euros
and US dollars and is expected to be launched
into syndication.
BAIC will provide a guarantee and its newly
acquired shares in Daimler will serve as security
for the loan.
The company has completed the purchase of the
5% stake in Daimler, Reuters reported on July 23.
It follows a purchase of Daimler shares in
February 2018 by Li Shufu, founder and CEO of
Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, another Chinese
automaker. As of December 31 2018, Tenaciou3
Prospect Investment, a company controlled by
Li, held 9.7% of Daimler and was the company’s
largest individual shareholder.
Also in February last year, BAIC’s Hong Kong-
listed subsidiary, BAIC Motor Corp, announced
plans to invest Rmb11.9bn (then US$1.88bn) to
expand production through a new factory in China.JOINT VENTURE
Beijing Benz Automotive, a 51:49 joint venture
between BAIC Motor and Daimler that has been
producing Mercedes-Benz cars since 2006, is
building the new plant, which is expected to
produce electric cars and vehicle batteries.
Meanwhile, BAIC’s 60%-owned subsidiary
Beijing Hainachuan Automotive Parts is in the
market for a €200m (US$223m) three-year
debut loan. Standard Chartered (Hong Kong)
is the MLAB and underwriter of the bullet
loan, which offers top-level all-in pricing of
215bp based on an interest margin of 185bp
over Euribor. The borrower is Netherlands-
based Inalfa Roof Systems Group, while Beijing
Hainachuan Auto Parts is the guarantor.
BAIC’s last loan market visit was in May
2017 through a guarantee for a €265m (then
US$288m) three-year financing for Maikun
Investment. After the loan’s currency was revised
to euros from US dollars during syndication, sole
MLAB StanChart (Hong Kong) closed syndication
with 15 other banks. Guaranteed by BAIC, top-
level all-in pricing was 125bp based on a margin
of 115bp over Euribor.
BAIC is rated Baa2/BBB+/BBB+.
Evelynn Lin, Apple Lam