Narrative
Full Description
Project narrative
On November 24, 2015, a syndicate of eight lenders (representing seven banks) — including the Poland Branch of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (Europe) S.A. (ICBC (Europe)) — entered into a zł6,270,000,000 PLN (RMB 10.032 billion; $1.57 billion USD) syndicated loan agreement with Tauron Polska Energia S.A. — a Poland-incorporated electric power and heat holding company headquartered in headquartered in Katowice listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange with the State Treasury of the Republic of Poland as the largest shareholder (30.06% stake) — to support the issuance of bonds. Record ID#109184 captures ICBC (Europe)'s contribution. The proceeds were to support a zł6.27 billion PLN bond issuance program (of which the lenders provided an issue guarantee to purchase bonds under), to be done in multiple issuances until December 31, 2020 that the borrower planned to use to cover expenses related to the implementation of its investment program, refinance its debt, or finance its general corporate expenses. On June 19, 2019, a syndicate of nine banks — including the Poland Branch of ICBC (Europe) — entered into a zł6,070,000,000 PLN syndicated credit facility agreement with Tauron Polska Energia S.A. to support the issuance of bonds. The loan carried an interest rate based on a variable rate plus a margin and had the full value available until December 31, 2021, and then zł5,820,000,000 PLN available until December 31, 2022. Record ID#109193 captures ICBC (Europe)'s contribution. The proceeds of the loan were to be used to replace (refinance) the zł6.27 billion PLN syndicated loan from November 2015 that supported the issuance of bonds for Tauron used to finance the activities of the borrower, such as the update of its strategic plans. The proceeds of the first tranche of the loan drawn down on June 28, 2019 were used to redeem bonds with a nominal value of zł1,839,600,000 PLN. As of December 31, 2019, the borrower's total indebtedness under the agreement was zł4,989,600,000 PLN. In 2020, the borrower drew down multiple tranches under the loan to repay existing debt. On July 15, 2022, a syndicate of eight banks — including the Poland Branch of ICBC (Europe) and the Poland Branch of China Construction Bank (Europe) S.A. — entered into a zł4,000,000,000 PLN ($840 million USD; €840 million EUR) syndicated sustainability-linked loan agreement with Tauron Polska Energia S.A. for refinancing and general corporate purposes. The facility carried a maturity period of five years with two one-year extension option, a five-year availability period with two one-year extension option, and a variable interest rate with a selected interest period plus a margin. As a sustainability-linked loan, the margin was subject to change based on the borrower's performance against sustainable development-linked Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions and the increase of the share of renewable energy sources in the generation structure of Tauron. The loan was available for draw downs in multiple tranches. On August 25, 2022, Tauron signed a declaration of submission to enforcement up to the maximum amount of zł4.800 billion PLN up to November 30, 2030 in connection with the loan. Record ID#109198 captures ICBC (Europe)'s contribution. Record ID#109199 captures CCB Europe's contribution. In addition to ICBC (Europe) and CCB Europe, the following lenders contributed to the loan syndicate: Powszechna Kasa Oszczędności Bank Polski S.A. (PKOP), Bank Polska Kasa Opieki S.A., CaixaBank S.A. (Spółka Akcyjna) Oddział w Polsce, Bank Handlowy w Warszawie S.A. (BHW), Erste Group Bank AG, and Santander Bank Polska S.A.. The proceeds were used by the borrower to refinance existing debt, including the debt under the zł6.07 billion PLN syndicated loan from June 19, 2019 (which was full repaid in the fourth quarter of 2022 and then terminated), to finance the borrower's capital expenditure (excluding coal asset-related projects), and to finance the borrower's corporate-wide expenditure (excluding coal asset-related expenditure). As of December 31, 2022, zł2,750,000,000 PLN was outstanding under the loan. As of December 31, 2023, zł2,400,000,000 PLN was outstanding under the loan. In 2024, the lending syndicate — including ICBC (Europe) and CCB Europe — entered into an amendment agreement with the borrower for the loan; in the amendment, the lenders extended the maturity period by one year — for a new maturity period of six years — to a new final maturity date of November 22, 2028.
Staff comments
1. The individual contributions of the eight lenders to this zł4 billion PLN syndicated loan are unknown. Therefore, to estimate ICBC (Europe) and CCB Europe's contributions, AidData has assumed that each contributed equally (zł500,000,000 PLN) to the loan syndicate. 2. Tauron Polska Energia S.A. is an energy holding company in Poland. It owns power and heat generation and distribution, and coal mining assets through a number of companies, particularly in south-western Poland. It was the largest power distributor and the second largest power producer in Poland.