Bank of China contributes to a $1 billion AUD syndicated loan for the Leighton Holdings 2013 Refinancing Project

Project narrative

On December 8, 2010, a syndicate of nine lenders — including the Bank of China (BOC) — entered into a $600.0 million AUD syndicated bank (loan facility) agreement with Leighton Finance Limited — a special purpose vehicle (SPV) and wholly owned subsidiary of Australian construction firm Leighton Holdings Limited — for unspecified purposes. This facility carried a maturity period of three years, a maturity date of December 8, 2013, and an interest of the Bank Bill Swap Rate (BBSW) plus a margin of 180 basis points (bps). This facility was an amendment and restatement of an October 2008 $520 million AUD facility. Record ID#96511 captures BOC's contribution. As of June 30, 2011, the carrying amount under this facility was zero. As of December 31, 2012, the carrying amount under this facility was zero. Then, on June 21, 2013, a syndicate of 12 banks — including BOC and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) — entered into a $1.0 billion AUD syndicated bank (loan) cash advance facility agreement with Leighton Finance Limited for the Leighton Holdings 2013 Refinancing Project. This loan carried a maturity period of three years, a maturity date of June 21, 2016, and an interest rate of BBSW plus a margin of 175 bps. The proceeds of this facility were to be used by the borrower for refinancing, working capital, and general corporate purposes; specifically, it was to be used to repay the $600 million AUD 2010 loan. BOC's contribution is captured by Record ID#96512. ICBC's contribution is captured by Record ID#96513. In addition to BOC and ICBC, the following lenders contributed the loan syndicate: Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ), Mizuho Corporate Bank (MHCB), National Australia Bank Limited (NAB), the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd. (BTMU), Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), the Bank of Nova Scotia (Scotiabank), Barclays, Mega International Commercial Bank, Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC). ANZ, Mizuho, and NAB served as bookrunners and mandated lead arrangers, each pledging at least $100 million AUD to the facility. BOC, ICBC, BTMU, and CBA joined in syndication as mandated lead arrangers. Scotiabank, Mega International, RBS, and SMBC joined in syndication as lead arrangers. Syndication was launched in early May 2013. The loan was oversubscribed from its initial $700 million AUD. Then, on December 8, 2014, the lenders and Leighton Finance entered into an agreement to extend the maturity period of the facility by 1.5 years (18 months), from the old maturity date of June 21, 2016 to the new, extended one of December 8, 2017 and a new maturity period of 4.5 years. Projects ID#96514 and #110872 captures BOC and ICBC's participation in the maturity extension. As of December 31, 2014, this facility had a carrying amount of $600.0 million AUD. As of December 31, 2015, this facility was undrawn. As of December 31, 2016, the carrying amount under this loan was zero. On September 18, 2017, a syndicate of lenders entered into a $2.600 billion AUD syndicated bank (loan) facility agreement with CIMIC Finance Limited — the new name for Leighton Finance Limited — for the CIMIC Group 2017 Refinancing Project. The proceeds of this facility were used by borrower, to, among other things, refinance the 2013 facility. It is unknown whether any Chinese state-owned banks contributed to this facility.