China Eximbank participates in $122.3 million syndicated loan to Uzpromstroybank for Tashkent City International Business Center Construction Project

On August 2, 2018, the President of Uzbekistan issued a decree (No. PP-3895) related to the construction of the main office of Uzbek Industrial and Construction Bank (also known as Sanoat Qurilish Bank or SQB or Uzsanoatkurilishbank or Uzpromstroybank) on the territory of the Tashkent City International Business Center. Then, in June 2021, Uzbek Industrial and Construction Bank — a state-owned commercial bank — signed a $122.3 million syndicated loan agreement with China Eximbank, Credit Suisse, Citibank, and Raiffeisenbank. Credit Suisse acted as a structuring bank, arranger and agent, while Citibank, China Eximbank and Raiffeisenbank were involved as arrangers. The loan carries a 12-year maturity at an unknown interest rate. It is backed by a Sinosure credit insurance policy. The purpose of the project is to construct Uzpromstroybank’s new headquarters building, SQB Tower, in Tashkent City. The project site is located on 80 hectare lot in the center of Tashkent between A. Navoi Avenue, Olmazor Street, Furkat Street and I. Karimov Avenue. The headquarters building will be 33 stories, 161 meters tall, and have an area of 81,076 m^2. It will be certified to the environmental standards of the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM). Uzbekistan Daily reports that BREEAM certifies ‘the efficient allocation of environmental resources such as energy, water, and sustainable materials, which creates a sustainable and safe natural environment and office space for building workers. BREEAM certified buildings are more attractive to tenants in the market, ensuring that all stages of construction are carried out in strict accordance with green standards.’ Tashkent City is the first business city to be built in Uzbekistan and will be located in the current city center of Tashkent. The construction plan for Tashkent City includes several modern office buildings, exclusive and comfortable residential complexes, entertainment venues, as well as shopping facilities. As part of the Tashkent City International Business Center Construction Project, three banks (SQB, Asaka Bank and Aloqa Bank) are building skyscrapers as their new headquarters. Shanghai Construction Group is the contractor responsible for project implementation. Construction began in June 2019. The project was originally scheduled for completion by December 2022. However, the Covid-19 pandemic slowed the pace of construction.

Additional details

1. The exact monetary value of China Eximbank’s contribution to the syndicated loan is unknown. For the time being, AidData assumes equal contributions ($30.575 million) across the 4 known members of the syndicate. 2. Uzbek Industrial and Construction Bank (Sanoat Qurilish Bank SQB) is a majority state-owned universal commercial bank in Uzbekistan, which carries out all kinds of banking operations represented in the financial services market including servicing of private and corporate clients. Its principal activities are commercial and retail banking operations, transactions with foreign currencies, the origination of loans, issuance of guarantees, and letters of credit. 3. This project is also known as the Tashkent City Project. 4. In late 2018, ICBC was actively considering the possibility of providing a loan to Uzbek Industrial and Construction Bank for the Tashkent City International Business Center Construction Project. However, it appears that a loan agreement with ICBC was never finalized. This issue warrants further investigation. 5. The Chinese project title is 乌兹别克斯坦塔什干三座银行项目 or 乌兹别克斯坦首都金融中心项目 or 乌塔什干市政府商务中心项目.

Number of official sources

5

Number of total sources

12