Narrative
Full Description
Project narrative
On June 4, 2013, financial close was reached on a deal in which a syndicate of five banks — Bank of China (BOC), Bank of Communications (BoComm), China Construction Bank Corporation (CCB), Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (Asia) Limited (ICBC (Asia)), and National Australia Bank Limited (NAB) — entered into $245.52 million AUD ($236.94 million USD) syndicated loan agreement with Gullen Range Wind Farm Pty Ltd (GRWF) — a special purpose vehicle (SPV) indirectly wholly owned by Xinjiang Goldwind Science & Technology Co., Ltd. — for the 165.5 MW Gullen Range Wind Farm Project. This term loan carried a maturity period of five years and a final maturity date of June 21, 2018. This loan was secured by (i.e. collateralized against) a pledge of Xinjiang Goldwind Science & Technology's 100% indirect equity interest in GRWF. BOC, BoComm, and CCB each contributed $45.13 million AUD ($43.55 million USD), while ICBC (Asia) and NAB each contributed $55.06 million AUD ($53.14 million USD). NAB served as mandated debt arranger and bookrunner. Record ID#94865 captures BOC's contribution. Record ID#94866 captures BoComm's contribution. Record ID#94867 captures CCB's contribution. Record ID#94868 captures ICBC Asia's contribution. Then, on July 10, 2014, financial close was reached on a deal in which the five-bank syndicate — BOC, BoComm, CCB, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), and NAB — entered into a $247.50 million AUD ($232.42 million USD) syndicated loan agreement with New Gullen Range Wind Farm Pty Ltd (New GRWF) — a special purpose vehicle (SPV) owned by Goldwind Capital (Australia) Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of Xinjiang Goldwind Science & Technology Co., Ltd., (25% equity stake) and Beijing Jingneng Clean Energy (Hong Kong) Co. Ltd, a subsidiary of Beijing Jingneng Clean Energy Co Ltd., (BJCE) (75% equity stake) — for the 165.5 MW Gullen Range Wind Farm 2014 Refinancing Project. This term loan carried a maturity period of five years and a final maturity date of July 10, 2019. The proceeds of this loan were to refinance existing debt facilities for the Gullen Range Wind Farm on the occasion of BJCE's purchase of a 75% stake in the wind farm; specifically, NGRWF repaid the loan to GRWF. BOC, BoComm, and CCB each contributed $45.49 million AUD ($42.72 million USD), while ICBC and NAB each contributed $55.50 million AUD ($52.12 million AUD). Record ID#94869 captures BOC's contribution. Record ID#94870 captures BoComm's contribution. Record ID#94871 captures CCB's contribution. Record ID#94872 captures ICBC's contribution. The proceeds of this loan were used to refinance the Gullen Range Wind Farm, a 73-turbine wind farm with a 165.5 MW capacity, measuring 22 kilometers north to south, located approximately in the locality of Bannister in the Southern Tablelands region of New South Wales, approximately 11 kilometers of Crookwell and 32 kilometers northwest of Goulburn 20 kilometers West of Goulburn. The wind farm was capable of generating enough energy to power 70,000 average homes on an average daily. Then, on September 15, 2020, financial close was reached on a deal in which a four-bank syndicate of BOC, BoComm, ICBC, and Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) entered into a $188.33 million AUD ($137.90 million USD) term loan agreement with New Gullen Range Wind Farm Pty Ltd (New GRWF) — a special purpose vehicle (SPV) owned by Goldwind Capital (Australia) Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of Xinjiang Goldwind Science & Technology Co., Ltd., (25% equity stake) and Beijing Jingneng Clean Energy (Hong Kong) Co. Ltd, a subsidiary of Beijing Jingneng Clean Energy Co Ltd., (BJCE) (75% equity stake) — for the Gullen Range Wind Farm (165.5 MW) and Gullen PV Solar Plant (10 MW) 2020 Refinancing Project. This loan carried a maturity period of five years and a final maturity date of September 15, 2025. All four banks contributed $47.08 million AUD ($34.48 million USD) to the loan syndicate. The proceeds of this loan were used by the borrower to refinance the project debt on the 165.5 MW Gullen Range Wind Farm and the 10 MW Gullen Solar Farm. Record ID#94876 captures BOC's contribution. Record ID#94877 captures BoComm's contribution. Record ID#94878 captures ICBC's contribution.
Staff comments
1. Project Finance International (PFI) identifies a syndicated loan (involving ICBC) to Gullen Range Wind Farm Pty Ltd (GRWF) in 2015 (see https://www.dropbox.com/s/p9hjsjee5rbafe5/PFI-League-Tables2015.pdf?dl=0). However, AidData has not independently corroborate the receipt of a 2015 syndicated loan. This issue warrants further investigation. One possibility is that a syndicated loan was issued in 2015 to refinance the syndicated loan that was issued in 2014.