Bank of China contributes $110.94 million USD to the $2.55154 billion USD term loan tranche of a $2.56958 billion USD syndicated loan for the Wiggins Island Coal Export Terminal 2018 Refinancing Project (Linked to Record ID#95097, #95098, #95099, #95100, #95101, #95102, #95104, and #95105)

Project narrative

On September 9, 2011, financial close was reached on a deal in which a syndicate of banks — including the Bank of China (BOC), China Development Bank Corporation (CDB), and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (Asia) Limited (ICBC (Asia)) — entered into a $2.9969 billion USD ($3.08549 billion AUD) syndicated loan agreement with Wiggins Island Coal Export Terminal Pty Ltd (WICET) — a special purpose vehicle (SPV) and joint venture of Aquila Resources, Bandanna Energy, Caledon Resources, Cockatoo Coal, Northern Energy Corporation, Xstrata Coal, Yancoal Australia, and Wesfarmers Curragh — for the Wiggins Island Coal Export Terminal Project. This syndicated loan facility consisted of five tranches: a $2.4 billion USD ($2.47094 billion AUD) non-recourse construction term loan tranche with a maturity period of three years and an interest rate of LIBOR plus a margin of 300 basis points (bps) provided by a syndicate; a $350 million USD ($360.35 million AUD) cost-overrun term loan tranche with a maturity period of four years; a $100 million USD ($102.96 million AUD) equity bridge term loan tranche with a maturity period of one year; a $48.97 million USD ($50.42 million AUD) working capital tranche with a maturity period of four years and a final maturity date of September 30, 2018; and a $97.93 million USD ($100.82 million AUD) letter of credit tranche with a maturity period of seven years and a final maturity date of September 30, 2018. BOC contributed $167 million USD, CDB contributed $229 million USD, and ICBC (Asia) contributed $93 million USD to the $2.4 billion USD term loan. Record ID#95097 captures BOC's contribution. Record ID#95098 captures CDB's contribution. Record ID#95099 captures ICBC (Asia)'s contribution. BOC contributed $24 million USD, CDB contributed $33 million USD, and ICBC (Asia) contributed $13 million USD to the $350 million USD term loan tranche. Record ID#95100 captures BOC's contribution. Record ID#95101 captures CDB's contribution. Record ID#95102 captures ICBC (Asia)'s contribution. On September 25, 2018, financial close was reached on a deal in which a syndicate of 22 banks — including BOC, CDB, and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) — entered into a $2.56958 billion USD syndicated loan agreement with WICET for the Wiggins Island Coal Export Terminal 2018 Refinancing Project. The proceeds of this loan were to be used by the borrower for the refinancing of the Wiggins Island Coal Export Terminal. This syndicated loan was divided into two tranches: a $2.55154 billion USD term loan tranche with a maturity period of eight years, a final maturity date of September 25, 2026, and an interest rate of LIBOR plus a margin of 325 bps and a $18.04 million USD letter of credit tranche with a maturity period of eight years, a final maturity date of September 25, 2026, and an interest rate of LIBOR plus a margin of 325 bps. In addition to BOC, CDB, and ICBC, the following lenders contributed to the loan syndicate: Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ), Banco Santander S.A., Bank of America, BNP Paribas S.A., Burlington Loan Management DAC, Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), DBS Bank, Deutsche Bank, Export Finance Australia (EFA), ING Bank, KfW-IPEX Bank GmbH, Mizuho Bank, National Australia Bank Limited (NAB), Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), MUFG Bank, Ltd., Korea Development Bank (KDB Bank), Westpac Banking Corporation, Värde Partners, and CCP Credit Acquisition. BOC, CDB, ICBC, and all lenders, except DBS Bank which contributed contributed $221.88 million USD, $110.94 million USD to the $2.55154 billion USD term loan tranche. Record ID#95103 captures BOC's contribution. Record ID#95104 captures CDB's contribution. Record ID#95105 captures ICBC (Asia)'s contribution. BOC, CDB, ICBC, and all lenders, except DBS Bank which contributed $1.56 million USD, contributed $0.78 million USD to the $18.04 million USD letter of credit tranche. There was some difficulty in securing this refinancing. Senior financiers did not reach unanimous agreement in relation to the terms of the extension of the debt, so, with the majority support of the senior financiers, WICET went to court to acquire the refinancing using a solvent creditors' scheme of arrangement to bind all senior financiers, a rarely used measure in Australia. Three of the eight original consortium members of WICET had gone insolvent at this point. In 2018-19, approximately 11.4 million tons of coal were exported from the coal term. In 2019, the terminal operated at less than 50% of its designed capacity. Queensland Government-owned Gladstone Ports Corporation operates the terminal.