China Eximbank contributes $50 million to $200 million syndicated loan for 1GW monocrystalline solar cell manufacturing plant in Shama Jaya Free Industrial Park (Linked to Project ID#92509)

In March 2018, LONGi Green Energy Technology Co. Ltd. (Chinese: 隆基绿能科技股份有限公司) signed a $200 million syndicated loan agreement with a group of Chinese state-owned banks. The participants in the loan syndicate included Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (Asia), Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (Malaysia) Berhad, and the Shaanxi Branch of the Export-Import Bank of China. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (Asia) was mandated as sole arranger of the transaction and it contributed approximately $100 million to the syndicate. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (Malaysia) Berhad and the Shaanxi Branch of the Export-Import Bank of China each contributed approximately $50 million to the syndicated loan. The joint contribution of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (Malaysia) Berhad and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (Asia) is captured via Project ID#92509. China Eximbank’s contribution is captured via Project ID#92510. The loan carried a 5-year maturity and it was backed by a corporate guarantee from LONGI (H.K.) Trading Limited. The borrower was expected to use the loan proceeds to build a new 1GW monocrystalline solar cell manufacturing plant in the Shama (Sama) Jaya Free Industrial Park, Kuching City, Sarawak, Malaysia. Prior to the issuance of the syndicated loan, LONGi Green Energy Technology Co. Ltd. owned and operated a 500MW mono solar cell and 500MW of module assembly production in the in the Shama Jaya Free Industrial Park, Kuching City, Sarawak, Malaysia. LONGi Green Energy Technology Co. Ltd. said that the capacity expansion — financed with the proceeds of the syndicated loan — was intended to meet demand in overseas markets and further expand its manufacturing footprint outside China. The additionally capacity was originally expected to come online in 2019, providing the company with a total of 6GW of in-house mono cell capacity. However, the expansion project appears to have been delayed by the Covid-19 global pandemic. In February 2022, the company announced that it expected to complete the expansion project by the end of the third quarter of 2022.

Additional details

1. LONGi Green Energy Technology Co. Ltd. (Chinese: 隆基绿能科技股份有限公司), which is also known as the LONGi Group (隆基股份), is a major Chinese manufacturer of photovoltaic solar modules and a developer of solar power projects. LONGi Green Energy Technology Co. Ltd., which was formerly known as Xi'an Longi Silicon Materials Corporation, is the world largest manufacturer of monocrystalline silicon wafers and is listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange. 2. The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (Asia), or more commonly known as ICBC (Asia) is a licensed bank incorporated in Hong Kong. It is a subsidiary of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China. 3. Some sources suggest that ICBC (Asia) may have issued another $100 million loan for this project in 2019. This issue warrants further investigation.

Number of official sources

3

Number of total sources

13