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Overview

ICBC contributes to $1 billion syndicated loan for Telecom Argentina S.A. to finance capital expenditures, working capital and other general corporate purposes

Commitments (Constant USD, 2023)$143,756,613
Commitment Year2018Country of ActivityArgentinaDirect Recipient Country of IncorporationArgentinaSectorCommunicationsFlow TypeLoan

Status

Project lifecycle

Completion

Pipeline: PledgePipeline: CommitmentImplementationCompletion

Timeline

Key dates

Commitment date
Feb 2, 2018
Last repayment
Feb 2, 2019

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

  • Banco Santander, S.A. (Santander Group) (formerly Banco Santander Central Hispano, S.A.)
  • Citibank, N.A.
  • Grupo Financiero HSBC
  • HSBC México S.A.
  • Institución de Banca Múltiple
  • JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. (Chase Bank, formerly the Chase Manhattan Bank)

Receiving agencies

Private Sector

  • Telecom Argentina S.A.

Loan desecription

ICBC contributes to $1 billion syndicated loan for Telecom Argentina S.A. to finance capital expenditures, working capital and other general corporate purposes

Grant element3.0599%Interest rate (t₀)3.24214%Interest typeVariable Interest RateMaturity1 years

Narrative

Full Description

Project narrative

On February 2, 2018, Telecom Argentina S.A. signed a $1 billion syndicated loan agreement with 7 banks. The proceeds of the loan were to be used by the borrower to finance capital expenditures, working capital and other general corporate purposes. The loan carried a 1-year maturity. It bore interest at an annual rate equivalent to LIBOR plus the following margins: 1.25 percentage points during the first four months, 1.50 percentage points, during the following two months, 1.75 percentage points during the following three months and 2.25 percentage points during the last three months prior to the maturity date. Interest was payable quarterly or semiannually, at the borrower’s option. Participants in the lending syndicate included Citibank N.A., HSBC México S.A., Institución de Banca Múltiple, Grupo Financiero HSBC, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Limited, JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A., and Banco Santander S.A. On February 9, 2018, and March 9, 2018, Telecom Argentina S.A. made $650 million and $350 million drawdowns, respectively, under the loan agreement. The loan was repaid in full in February 2019 (the final maturity date).

Staff comments

1. Telecom Argentina SA is a private company that provides telecommunications services, including local, long-distance and international service in Argentina. The company is led by Carlos Alberto Moltini, Gabriel Pablo Blasi and Gonzalo Hita. 2. The monetary value of ICBC’s contribution to the lending syndicate is unknown. For the time being, AidData assumes equal contributions ($142,857,142) across the 7 members of the lending syndicate. 3. The all-in interest rate is estimated by adding 1.5% to the average 6-month LIBOR rate in February 2018 (2.089%).