Narrative
Full Description
Project narrative
In 2010, a syndicate of three banks — the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), National Australia Bank Limited (NAB), and Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) — entered into a $78 million USD syndicated loan agreement with Western Energy Pty Ltd, a special purpose vehicle (SPV) and wholly subsidiary of Perth Energy Pty Ltd. that owns and operates the 120 MW Kwinana Swift Power Plant. ICBC and NAB each contributed $24.5 million USD, while ANZ contributed $29.0 million USD. The purpose of this loan is unknown.
Staff comments
1. The purpose of this loan is unknown. Western Energy Pty Ltd is known as the owner and operator of the Kwinana Swift Power Plant, a 120 MW open-cycle gas turbine plant located in Perth, Western Australia that can utilizer either natural gas or diesel as fuel. The $130 million AUD plant began construction in October 2008 and was completed in August 2010 (see "Western Energy Pty Ltd Carbon Tax Removal Substantiation Statement" and "Kwinana Swift Power Plant"). It is possible that the proceeds of the $78 million USD syndicated loan were used to finance the construct or refinance existing debt of the Kwinana Swift Power Plant. This issue merits further investigation. 2. Western Energy Pty Ltd, at the time of the loan, was a wholly subsidiary of Perth Energy Pty Ltd., itself majority owned by Infratil Limited, a New Zealand listed investment company, with a substantial minority share of Perth Energy owned by Western Australian private investors.