Bank of China contributes to a €3 billion EUR syndicated sustainability-linked revolving credit facility to EDP – Energias de Portugal, S.A. for refinancing purposes (Linked to Record ID#104153)

Project narrative

On January 31, 2013, a syndicate of 16 banks — including the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) — signed a €1.600 billion EUR syndicated term loan facility agreement with EDP – Energias de Portugal, S.A. — a Portuguese electricity utilities company headquartered in Lisbon — and EDP Finance B.V. — a Netherlands-incorporated wholly-owned subsidiary of EDP — for refinancing purposes. This loan carried a maturity period of five years with 50% due for repayment in January 2017 (a grace period of four years) and 50% due for repayment on final maturity date January 31, 2018 and an interest rate of EURIBOR plus a margin of 4% (the margin being dependent on EDP's credit rating). The proceeds were to be used by the borrowers to refinance two existing and fully drawn loans, specifically a €925 million EUR revolving credit facility (RCF) signed in 2008 and maturing in April 2013 and a €1.100 billion EUR RCF signed in 2006 to be repaid at maturity in November 2013. Each lender, including ICBC, contributed €100 million EUR to the loan syndicate. Record ID#104127 captures ICBC's contribution. As of June 30, 2013, €955 million EUR was drawn down under this loan. On February 27, 2015, a syndicate of 16 banks — including the Bank of China (Luxembourg) S.A. (BOC Luxembourg) — signed a €2,000,000,000 EUR syndicated loan agreement with EDP – Energias de Portugal, S.A. and EDP Finance B.V. for refinancing purposes. This loan carried a maturity period of five years, an interest rate based on EURIBOR plus a margin of 1.1% (the margin being dependent on EDP's credit rating) and was divided into two tranches: a €1,500,000,000 EUR term loan tranche known as 'Tranche A' and a €500,000,000 EUR RCF tranche known as 'Tranche B'. The proceeds were to be used by the borrowers to refinance, via early repayment and cancellation, the January 2013 €1.6 billion EUR syndicated loan. Record ID#104130 captures BOC Luxembourg's contribution. As of December 31, 2015, €1.500 billion EUR was drawn down. As of March 7, 2018, €1,500,000,000 EUR of Tranche A remained drawn. On March 7, 2018, a syndicate of 17 lenders — including the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) — signed a €2,240,000,000 EUR syndicated revolving credit facility (RCF) agreement with EDP – Energias de Portugal, S.A. and EDP Finance B.V. for refinancing purposes. This loan carried a maturity period of five years with two one-year extension options subject to each lender's consent, a final maturity date in March 2023, and was available for draw down in euros and U.S. dollars. The proceeds were to be used by the borrowers to refinance via prepayment and cancellation of the €2,000,000,000 EUR facility signed in 2015 that was set to mature in February 2015 and was drawn to €1,500,000,000 EUR from Tranche A. Record ID#104139 captures ICBC's contribution. As of July 28, 2023, this RCF was not drawn. On July 28, 2023, a syndicate of 26 banks — including the Bank of China (BOC) and ICBC — signed a €3,000,000,000 EUR syndicated sustainability-linked RCF agreement with EDP – Energias de Portugal, S.A. and EDP Finance B.V. for refinancing purposes. This loan carried a maturity period of five years with two one-year extension options subject to lenders' consent and was available for draw down in euros, British pounds sterling (up to £500 million GBP), and U.S. dollars. As a sustainability-linked loan (SLL), this RCF was structured according to the Sustainability linked Loan Principles of the Loan Market Association with two Key Performance Indicators related to environmental, social, and governance (ESG), namely (i) the reduction of scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions based on the Science Based Target initiative and (ii) an increase in the percentage of installed capacity of renewable energy within EDP; the borrower's performance against these KPIs was assessed, with fulfillments impacting the cost of the RCF. The proceeds were to be used by the borrowers to replace (refinance) the €2.24 billion EUR syndicated RCF maturing in March 2025, which was not drawn. Record ID#104149 captures BOC's contribution. Record ID#104153 captures ICBC's contribution. In addition to BOC and ICBC, the following lenders contributed to the loan syndicate: ABN AMRO Bank N.V., Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. (BBVA), Bank of America, Barclays Bank Plc, BNP Paribas S.A., CaixaBank, S.A., Citibank N.A., Commerzbank AG, Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank (CACIB), DBS Bank, Deutsche Bank, HSBC Bank Plc, ING Bank N.V., J.P. Morgan Limited, Mizuho Bank, MUFG Bank, Ltd., National Westminster Bank Plc (NatWest), Natixis, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), Société Générale S.A. (SocGen), Standard Chartered Bank Plc, Banco Santander (Portugal) S.A., UniCredit Bank AG, and Wells Fargo Bank N.A. MUFG served as Documentation Agent and Facility Agent. SMBC served as Sustainability Coordinator. All lenders served as bookrunners and mandated lead arrangers.