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Overview

ICBC contributes to a $1.75 billion USD syndicated loan to British Airways for the acquisition of 36 aircraft (Linked to Record ID#92024)

Commitments (Constant USD, 2023)$264,339,812
Commitment Year•2007Country of Activity•United KingdomDirect Recipient Country of Incorporation•United KingdomSector•Transport And StorageFlow Type•Loan

Status

Project lifecycle

Pipeline: Commitment

Pipeline: PledgePipeline: CommitmentImplementationCompletion

Timeline

Key dates

Commitment date
Oct 26, 2007
End (planned)
Dec 31, 2012

Geospatial footprint

Map overview

Visualizes the AidData-provided feature geometry for this project.

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This loan supported the acquisition of 36 aircraft by British Airways, which is headquartered at British Airways Plc., Waterside, Harmondsworth, UB7 0GB, United Kingdom. More detailed locational information can be found at: https://www.openstreetmap.org/way/966698053

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

  • BNP Paribas S.A.
  • Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft (Commerzbank AG)
  • Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank (CACIB) (Crédit Agricole CIB) (Formerly Calyon) (Formerly Crédit Agricole Indosuez (CAI))
  • ING Bank N.V.
  • Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation
  • Mizuho Corporate Bank, Ltd. (MHCB)
  • MUFG Bank, Ltd. (Formerly Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd. (BTMU))
  • Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC)

State-owned Banks

  • Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS)

State-owned Commercial Banks

  • Bank of China (BOC)

Receiving agencies

Private Sector

  • British Airways PLC (BA)

Security / collateral agents

Private Sector

  • Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank (CACIB) (Crédit Agricole CIB) (Formerly Calyon) (Formerly Crédit Agricole Indosuez (CAI))

Loan desecription

ICBC and BOC contribution to $1.75 billion USD syndicated loan to British Airways for the acquisition of 36 aircraft

Interest type•Unknown

Narrative

Full Description

Project narrative

On October 26, 2007, a syndicate of 11 banks — including the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) and the Bank of China (BOC) — signed a multiple option $1.75 billion USD (£828.47 million GBP) syndicated facility (loan) agreement with United Kingdom flag carrier British Airways (BA) for the acquisition of 36 aircraft by BA over five years. This project captures ICBC's estimated contribution, and Record ID#92024 captures BOC's estimated contribution. In addition to BOC and ICBC, the following banks participated in the syndicated loan: The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd. (BTMU), Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation, Mizuho Corporate Bank (MHCB), Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (CMB), Calyon, Commerzbank AG, ING Bank N.V., BNP Paribas S.A., and the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS). BOC and ICBC both served as Senior Mandated Lead Arrangers. BTMU, MHCB, SMCB, and Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation served as Mandated Lead Arrangers. Calyon, RBS, Commerzbank, ING Bank, and BNP Paribas served as Lead Arrangers. ING Bank served as documentation agent. RBS served as facility agent. Calyon served as security agent. The 36 aircraft included 12 Airbus A380s and 24 Boeing 787s ordered in September 2007.

Staff comments

1. The individual contributions of the 13 lenders to this $1.75 billion USD syndicated loan are unknown. For the time being, AidData has estimated the contribution of ICBC by assuming that the 11 lenders each contributed an equal amount ($159,090,909 USD) to the loan syndicate. 2. "ICBC provides debt financing for BA's purchase of 36 jets" suggests that this facility agreement was signed in September 2007. However, Reuters ("RLPC-British Airways completes $1.7 bln syndicated loan") and sources close to the law firms involved in the project ("Norton Rose wins BA role opposite Slaughters") identify October 26, 2007 as the signing date of this loan, which AidData has determined is correct. 3. AidData has coded this transaction as a collateralized loan because Calyon acted as the security agent (i.e. collateral agent) for the loan. When lenders take collateral as security for their loans, a collateral agent/security trustee is often appointed to enforce rights against the collateral in the event of the borrower's default under the loan.