COUNTRY REPORT CHINARmb500m three-year notes at 6.5% in May,
also through private placements.
“We’ve become a recurring issuer in the
Panda bond market in a short period of
time, enabling us to access an additional
medium-term liquidity source in the debt
capital markets,” Claire Chen, Trafigura
China’s chief financial officer, said in the
press release.
Bank of China was lead bookrunner on this
transaction, ICBC was joint lead bookrunner
and China Construction Bank was financial
adviser.
SYNDICATED LOANS
› ASIA SYMBOL TO PRE-PAY PART OF LOAN
Paper and pulp producer ASIA SYMBOL CHINA
HOLDINGS is looking to pre-pay part of a
US$740m loan it signed in November last
year.
The borrower is eyeing a pre-payment of
instalments on the loan totalling around
US$113.27m that come due in May, August
and November next year.
The financing comprises a US$110m six-
year tranche A with a 5.5-year put option, a
US$500m six-year tranche B and a US$130m
seven-year tranche C. The deal had a
US$60m greenshoe option when launched
into primary syndication last year, but it
was not exercised.
Each tranche has a grace period of 15
months after which repayments take place
in equal quarterly instalments in February,
May, August and November every year. The
first instalment is due in May next year.
Asia Symbol is also looking to amend
the terms related to the security on the
loan. It intends to pledge land parcels
and buildings on a different plot of land,
replacing certain factory buildings and
warehouses that formed part of the
original collateral.
The borrower requires consent from
a simple majority of lenders by value.
Banks have been asked to respond to the
amendment by October 22, but are not
offered any fees.
Tranches A, B and C have interest
margins of 270bp, 300bp and 325bp over
Libor, and paid top-level fees of 110bp,
130bp and 150bp, respectively.
Parent ASIA PACIFIC RESOURCES INTERNATIONAL
HOLDINGS is the guarantor on the loan as well
as on a new self-arranged US$800m loan in
the market for APRIL INTERNATIONAL ENTERPRISE.
The latter’s borrowing pays top-level
all-ins of 240.6bp and 265.45bp based on
margins of 215bp and 240bp over Libor
for the five and seven-year tranches
respectively, which have average lives of
3.125 and 4.125 years.
› CANCELLATION LIKELY ON SUMMI LOANOrange juice maker SUMMI (GROUP) HOLDINGS is
likely to cancel its US$80m three-year loan
that was launched in July and has revised
the first repayment of principal on a loan it
had signed in 2016.
It is not clear if any lenders had
committed to the new US$80m loan
that sole mandated lead arranger and
bookrunner HSBC had launched, offering
a top-level all-in pricing of 388.1bp over
Libor via an interest margin of 350bp and a
participation fee of 100bp.
However, in August, Summi missed a
US$20m principal repayment, the first
instalment of a US$80m three-year loan
signed in August 2016.
It subsequently repaid only US$5m and
obtained consent from lenders to repay the
remaining US$15m by October 31 2018,
according to its interim financial results
published on September 27.
Lenders also agreed not to call for
immediate repayment of the remainder of
the loan.
The original amortisation schedule on
the loan carried repayment of 25% each
of the principal in August this year and
February 2019, respectively, and a balloon
50% repayment at maturity on August 8
next year.
Summi shares were suspended on
September 28 and resumed trading
Thursday following the release of an
announcement on Wednesday on a
major shareholder change. Summi said
that Key Wise Group, a company controlled
by Sin Ke, the chairman of Summi, and
his spouse, has conditionally agreed to
sell a 44.74% stake to investment holding
company Rui Er Holdings for HK$120.6m
(US$15m). Sin Ke will hold a 1.17% stake in
Summi after the share purchase.› GREENLAND SEEKS LOAN FOR OVERSEASProperty developer GREENLAND HOLDING GROUP is
seeking a US$330m three-year loan to back
the construction of two overseas projects.
Deutsche Bank is the mandated lead
arranger and bookrunner of the
transaction, which offers an interest
margin of 140bp over Libor.
Banks are being invited as lead
arrangers with commitments of US$20m
or more for an all-in pricing of 145bp via
a 15bp fee. The deadline for responses
was October 12.
The deal carries a guarantee letter
provided by China Export & Credit
Insurance, or Sinosure.
Funds are to back the construction of the
Pacific Park Brooklyn project in New York
and South Korea’s Jeju Dream Tower.In August 2017, Gluon Xima
International, an indirect wholly owned
subsidiary of Greenland Holding, raised
a US$315m three-year bullet loan. Credit
Suisse was the MLAB of that deal, which
offered a top-level all-in pricing of 258.33bp
via an interest margin of 225bp over Libor.› XIAOMI REPRICING DRAWS FOURXIAOMI HK has closed a repricing exercise for
a US$1bn three-year facility signed in July
last year, with four new lenders joining for
US$125m combined.
ANZ (US$39m), Citibank (US$30m), HSBC
(US$46m) and JP Morgan Hong Kong branch
(US$10m) are the new banks in the self-
arranged exercise. They joined the equal
loan and revolver tranches pro rata.
The quartet replaces commitments from
five existing lenders: China Merchants
Bank New York branch (US$20m), Deutsche
Bank Singapore branch (US$9m), First Abu
Dhabi Bank Singapore branch (US$67m),
Luso International Banking (US$10m) and
Mega International Commercial Bank OBU
(US$19m).
Some existing lenders have dropped out.
Deutsche, which was a mandated lead
arranger and bookrunner along with Wing
Lung Bank on the original deal, has reduced
its exposure from the US$70m it ended up
with then.
A total of 15 other lenders participated
in primary syndication on the 2017 deal.
Chinese banks combined took up more
than half of the whole facility. The top-
level all-in pricing was 260bp based on an
interest margin of 215bp over Libor.
Luso had taken exposure to the deal later
via the secondary market.
Wing Lung is the facility agent of the deal,
the size for which remains unchanged.
The latest amendment was signed on
September 26.
The repricing has resulted in a 60bp
reduction in the margin to 155bp over
Libor. Lenders earned a 20bp fee for
agreeing to the cut.› C&D SEEKS US$200M LOANHong Kong-listed property developer C&D
INTERNATIONAL INVESTMENT GROUP has launched a
US$200m three-year bullet loan.
Bank of China (Hong Kong) is the sole
mandated lead arranger and bookrunner
of the borrowing, which pays an interest
margin of 250bp over Libor and a top-level
all-in pricing of about 300bp.
No commitment fee applies during the
one-month availability period.
Proceeds are for working capital
purposes.
Commitments are due by early November.