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Overview

Bank of China contributes EUR 90 million to EUR 800 million syndicated loan with EP Infrastructure for debt refinancing purposes in 2020 (Linked to Record ID#109720)

Commitments (Constant USD, 2023)$105,518,232
Commitment Year•2020Country of Activity•Czech RepublicDirect Recipient Country of Incorporation•Czech RepublicOverseas Jurisdiction•HungarySector•EnergyFlow Type•Loan

Status

Project lifecycle

Completion

Pipeline: PledgePipeline: CommitmentImplementationCompletion

Timeline

Key dates

Commitment date
Jan 14, 2020
Last repayment (originally scheduled)
Jan 12, 2025

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

  • Bank of China (Central and Eastern Europe) Limited (formerly known as Bank of China (Hungary) Close Ltd.)

Cofinancing agencies

Private Sector

  • Banca IMI S.P.A.
  • Česká spořitelna, a.s.
  • Československá obchodní banka, a. s. (CSOB)
  • Citigroup Inc.
  • Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft (Commerzbank AG)
  • HSBC Bank PLC
  • ING Bank A.Ş
  • Komerční banka, a.s. (KB Bank)
  • Raiffeisen Bank
  • Slovenská Sporiteľňa (Slovak Savings Bank, a member of Erste Group)
  • Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC)
  • Tatra banka (a member of Raiffeisen Bank International)
  • UniCredit Bank AG

State-owned Commercial Banks

  • Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (Europe) S.A. (ICBC (Europe))

Receiving agencies

Private Sector

  • EP Infrastructure (EPIF)

Loan description

Bank of China and ICBC contribute to EUR 800 million syndicated loan with EP Infrastructure for debt refinancing purposes in the Czech Republic2020

Interest type•Variable Interest RateMaturity•5 years

Narrative

Full Description

Project narrative

On 14 January 2020, financial close was reached on a deal in which a syndicate of 15 banks — including Bank of China and ICBC — entered into a €800 million EUR syndicated loan agreement with EP Infrastructure, a.s. (“EPIF”) — a Czech-based infrastructure holding company primarily active in the gas, electricity, and heat sectors across Central Europe. The facilities consisted of a €400 million EUR term loan and a €400 million EUR revolving credit facility. The maturity of the loan is 5 years, and the interest rate is EURIBOR plus an applicable margin. The proceeds were used by the borrower to fully refinance existing bank debt. While Bank of China contributed €90 million EUR to this loan (Record ID#109719), and ICBC contributed €77 million EUR (Record ID#109720), the following lenders also participated: Banca IMI (€30 million EUR), Česká spořitelna (€8.1 million EUR), Citigroup (€20 million EUR), Commerzbank (€25 million EUR), CSOB (€27.5 million EUR), HSBC (€19 million EUR), ING Bank (€30 million EUR), Komerční banka (€32.5 million EUR), Raiffeisen Banking Group (€18.8 million EUR), Slovenská sporiteľňa (€24.4 million EUR), Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (€35 million EUR), Tatra Banka (€8.7 million EUR), and UniCredit (€37.5 million EUR).

Staff comments

1. The loan contract is unavailable. 2. EP Infrastructure, a.s. (EPIF) is a Czech-based infrastructure holding company headquartered in Prague. It operates across Central Europe and is involved in gas transmission, electricity distribution, and heat infrastructure. EPIF is part of the EPH Group, a major European energy and infrastructure group. 3. AidData is unable to estimate the interest rate for this loan because the margin to the EURIBOR-based loan is unavailable.