China Eximbank provides $16.7 million buyer's credit loan for Rio Grande Container Terminal Expansion Project

Project narrative

On October 15, 2009, China Eximbank and Wilsons Sons Limited signed a $16.66 million buyer's credit loan (BCL) agreement for the Rio Grande Container Terminal Expansion Project. The loan carried a 10-year maturity and an interest rate of 6-month LIBOR plus a 1.7% margin. It was to be repaid in semi-annual installments. It was secured by (i.e. collateralized against) a standby letter of credit issued for Tecon Rio Grande (with the financing bank as beneficiary. Tecon Rio Grande also pledged the equipment that was to be purchase with the proceeds to the China Eximbank loan to Banco Itaú BBA S.A. as another source of collateral. The borrower was expected to use the proceeds of the loan to finance 85% of the total cost of acquiring two ship-to-shore (STS) and four rubber-to-gentry (RTG) cranes from Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries Co., Ltd (ZPMC). The loan was repaid in fully on January 21, 2019. The purpose of the project was to expand the Rio Grande Container Terminal in Tecon. The project site is located on the western bank of the Rio Grande river, about 5 kms north of the Atlantic ocean and 7 kms south of the city of Rio Grande. The new equipment was expected to be delivered in early 2011 and to increase capacity at Wilson Sons Limited's Rio Grande container terminal. It was expected to increase the number of ship-to-shore cranes to 6 and the number of rubber-typed gantry cranes to 8 at the Rio Grande container terminal.