HSBC arranged Euro 152 million loan

HSBC announced this week that it was the lead arranger of a loan of EUR 152.2 million to West Coast Power (Pvt) Ltd. The loan facility was arranged for up to 14 years; with seven export credit agencies in the US and Europe to help set up a 300MW Combined Cycle Power Plant in Sri Lanka. The project, which is funded by 30 percent and 70 percent bank debt, is the largest export credit agency financing concluded in Sri Lanka. The Ministry of Finance provided a 100% unconditional guarantee for the debt obligations of the borrower.

U D Jayawardene, Chairman of Lakdhanavi Ltd and Chief Executive Officer for West Coast Power (Pvt) Ltd said, “At the request of the government, the Kerawalalapitiya 300MW Combined Power Plant was modelled to solve the impending power crisis in the country. The project cost was Rs 30 billion and needed to be completed within 20 months, whereas the time frame to arrange a loan of this magnitude usually exceeds a year. However, with the assistance given by HSBC we were able to obtain all the documentation needed to process the loan within just 6 months. HSBC also placed a bridging finance which helped us to place the initial equipment orders amidst arranging for the Euro 152.2 million term finance.”

Trevine Fernandopulle, Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Head of Corporate Banking at HSBC Sri Lanka stated, “The success of this loan epitomises HSBC’s resourcefulness as well as the bank’s continued commitment to develop and support the local financial industry. The loan facility is a new tenor set in the offshore commercial loan market and has set a benchmark in being the longest tenor ever achieved in Sri Lanka for offshore commercial debt.”