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Overview

Bank of China provides a $55 million AUD loan to NRW Holdings for the acquisition of BGC Contracting and for contract guarantees and working capital purposes

Commitments (Constant USD, 2023)$39,907,419
Commitment Year•2019Country of Activity•AustraliaDirect Recipient Country of Incorporation•AustraliaOverseas Jurisdiction•AustraliaSector•Industry, Mining, ConstructionFlow Type•Loan

Status

Project lifecycle

Completion

Pipeline: PledgePipeline: CommitmentImplementationCompletion

Timeline

Key dates

Commitment date
Dec 6, 2019
Start (actual)
Dec 9, 2019
End (actual)
Dec 9, 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

  • Bank of China (BOC)

Receiving agencies

Private Sector

  • NRW Holdings Limited

Guarantors

Private Sector

  • Primero Group Limited

Security / collateral agents

Private Sector

  • AMAL Security Services Pty Limited

Loan description

Bank of China provides a $55 million AUD loan to NRW Holdings for the acquisition of BGC Contracting and for contract guarantees and working capital purposes

Interest rate (t₀)•3.9%Interest type•Fixed Interest Rate

Narrative

Full Description

Project narrative

On December 6, 2019, the Sydney Branch of Bank of China (BOC) entered into a $55 million AUD multi-option and debt facility (loan) agreement with NRW Holdings Limited, an Australian mining and construction contracting firm, intended to support NRW Holdings' acquisition of BGC Contracting and for use as contractor guarantees or as working capital. This loan carried an effective interest rate of 3.9% in 2020. The $55 million AUD figure included a reducing loan facility, bank guarantee facility, and credit risk facility. AMAL Security Services Pty Ltd served as the security trustee for this loan. A portion of proceeds of this loan were drawn down to support NRW Holdings' acquisition of BGC Contracting, which was completed on December 9, 2019 for a consideration of $140.4 million AUD. As of June 30, 2020, $24 million AUD of this facility had been drawn down. As of result of NRW Holdings' 2021 acquisition of Primero Group Limited, Primero Group was required to accede as a guarantor and obligor to the agreement by January 31, 2022. Failure to do so by that date would have resulted in a breach of undertaking and an event of default.

Staff comments

1. As there was no event of default on this loan mentioned in NRW Holdings' 2022 annual report ("NRW Holdings Limited Annual Report 2022"), AidData has assumed Primero Group Limited became a guarantor to the facility between October 22, 2021 (publication date of "NRW Holdings Notice of Annual General Meeting 2021") and January 31, 2022, and has coded accordingly 2. AidData has coded this transaction as a collateralized loan because AMAL Security Services Pty Limited acted as the security trustee (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. 3. BGC Contracting Pty Ltd was one of Australia's leading building materials and residential construction companies, operating primarily out of Perth, WA.