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Overview

ICBC contributes to a $285 million AUD syndicated loan to Adelaide Airport Limited for refinancing and capital expenditure purposes

Commitments (Constant USD, 2023)$57,780,704
Commitment Year2016Country of ActivityAustraliaDirect Recipient Country of IncorporationAustraliaSectorTransport And StorageFlow TypeLoan

Status

Project lifecycle

Implementation

Pipeline: PledgePipeline: CommitmentImplementationCompletion

Timeline

Key dates

Commitment date
May 1, 2016
Last repayment (originally scheduled)
Apr 30, 2022

Stakeholders

Organizations involved in projects and activities supported by financial and in-kind transfers from Chinese government and state-owned entities

Ultimate beneficial owners

At least 25% host country ownership

Funding agencies

State-owned Commercial Banks

  • Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC)

Cofinancing agencies

Private Sector

  • Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) (CommBank)
  • Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC)
  • Westpac Banking Corporation

Receiving agencies

Joint Venture/Special Purpose Vehicles

  • Adelaide Airport Limited (AAL)

Loan description

ICBC contributions to a $285 million AUD syndicated loan to Adelaide Airport Limited for refinancing and capital expenditure purpose

Interest typeVariable Interest RateMaturity6 years

Narrative

Full Description

Project narrative

In May 2016, a syndicate of four banks — the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), and Westpac Banking Corporation — entered into a $285 million AUD syndicated loan agreement with Adelaide Airport Limited (AAL) — an Australia-incorporated special purpose vehicle (SPV) that, at the time of the loan, was jointly owned by Australian superannuation fund UniSuper Fund (49.0% equity stake), Perron Group (3.4% equity stake), Australian investment management company IFM Investors (12.8% equity stake), Colonial First State Global Asset Management (15.3% equity stake), and Australian industry superannuation Statewide Super Pty Ltd (later merged into Host-Plus Pty Limited) (19.5% equity stake) that holds the leasehold interests of the Adelaide Airport and the Parafield Airport — for refinancing and capital expenditure purposes. This loan was divided equally into a tranche(s) with a maturity period of five years and a final maturity in 2021 and a tranche(s) with a maturity period of seven years and a final maturity date in 2023. This loan was secured and carried an interest rate of 90-day BBSY bank bill rate plus a margin. The loan had four counterparties. This loan was secured. The proceeds were to be used by the borrower to refinance maturing 2016 Medium Term Notes (MTNs) and for upcoming capital expenditure purposes. As of June 30, 2017, the drawn principal was $220 million AUD. As of June 30, 2018, the drawn principal was $205 million AUD.

Staff comments

1. To estimate the contribution of ICBC, AidData has assumed that each lender contributed to all tranches of this $285 million AUD syndicated loan. The individual contributions of the four lenders to this $285 million AUD syndicated loan are unknown. For the time being, AidData has estimated ICBC's contribution by assuming that each lender contributed equally ($71,250,000 AUD) to the loan. 2. It is unclear whether ICBC contributed to all tranches of this $285 million AUD syndicated loan. For the time being, AidData has coded the maturity period of this record by taking the average of the maturity of the two tranches {[(5 + 7) / 2] = 6}. 3. Judging by its absence from Adelaide Airport's 2019 financial report but the apparent inclusion of the 2023 tranche(s), it is likely that five-year tranche(s) was repaid and/or cancelled in 2019 {{see pg.34 of ID#194125}}. It is possible this loan was repaid by June 30, 2023, judging by all debt for 2023 being paid in the 2023 financial report {{see pg.33 of ID#194121}}. However, AidData cannot conclusively determine whether these records are referring to this loan (this loan could have had its maturity modified, and other loans are known to have debt maturing in 2023). This issue merits further investigation.