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Overview

Bank of China contributes to a $600 million USD syndicated loan to Telstra Corporation for general corporate purposes (Linked to Record ID#96502)

Commitments (Constant USD, 2023)$214,788,028
Commitment Year•2008Country of Activity•AustraliaDirect Recipient Country of Incorporation•AustraliaOverseas Jurisdiction•AustraliaSector•CommunicationsFlow Type•Loan

Status

Project lifecycle

Implementation

Pipeline: PledgePipeline: CommitmentImplementationCompletion

Timeline

Key dates

Commitment date
May 20, 2008
Last repayment (originally scheduled)
Aug 18, 2013

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 (BOC)

Cofinancing agencies

Private Sector

  • Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. (BBVA)
  • Cathay United Bank
  • DZ Bank AG
  • Hua Nan Commercial Bank, Ltd. (HNCB)
  • MUFG Bank, Ltd. (Formerly Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd. (BTMU))
  • Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC)

State-owned Banks

  • Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena S.p.A. (MPS) (BMPS)

State-owned Commercial Banks

  • Bank of China (Hong Kong) Limited (BOCHK)

Receiving agencies

Private Sector

  • Telstra Corporation Limited

Loan description

May 2008 $600 million USD syndicated loan to Telstra Corporation for general corporate purposes in Australia

Interest rate (t₀)•3.4575%Interest type•Variable Interest RateLoan tenor•3-month rateMaturity•5.25 years

Narrative

Full Description

Project narrative

On May 20, 2008, a syndicate of nine lenders — including the Sydney Branch of the Bank of China (BOC) and Bank of China (Hong Kong) Limited (BOCHK) — entered into a $600 million USD ($625 million AUD) loan agreement with Telstra Corporation Limited — an Australian telecommunications firm — for general corporate purposes. This loan carried an interest rate of 90-day (3-Month) LIBOR plus a 0.8% margin and a maturity period of 5.25 years. The proceeds of the loan, which Telstra would swap into Australian dollars, were intended for general corporate purposes. BOC and BOCK together contributed $305 million USD. Record ID#93210 captures BOC Sydney's contribution. Record ID#96502 captures BOCHK's contribution. In addition to the two Chinese state-owned banks, the following lenders contributed to the loan syndicate: Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) ($100 million USD), the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd. (BTMU) ($75 million USD), the Singapore Branch of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. (BBVA) ($50 million USD), the Singapore Branch of DZ Bank AG ($40 million USD), Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena S.p.A. (BMPS) ($10 million USD), Cathay United Bank ($10 million USD), and Hua Nan Commercial Bank (HNCB) ($10 million USD). BOC Sydney and BOCK served as mandated lead arrangers. SMBC and BTMU served as coordinating lead arrangers. BBVA Singapore Branch and DZ Singapore Branch served as senior managers. BMPS, Cathay United, and HNCB served as managers. The loan was oversubscribed from its $500 million USD target in syndication. Nomura Australia Limited acted as loan coordinator, but did not contribute to the loan itself. The loan was issued in June 2008.

Staff comments

1. It is known that BOC and BOCHK together contributed $305 million USD; however, their individual contributions are unknown. For the time being, AidData has estimated the contribution of each bank by assuming they contributed equally ($152,500,000 USD) to the $305 million USD figure.