March April 2008 - Past Issues - GTR Magazine - Global Trade Review - The world's leading international trade finance and export finance magazine

GTR Magazine: March April 2008

Best Deals of 2007: Introduction

GTR's 40 Best Deals of 2007 are showcased in the following pages. Power, telecoms, metals and oil were outright winners sector-wise, while regionally there was a good spread all round. Once again inundated with nominations for GTR's Best Deals

Best Deals of 2007: Afren Okoro, Nigeria

BNP Paribas closed an exceptional US$230mn development financing for Nigerian oil company Afren Okoro in March 2007. The deal marks the first single pre-production financing ever closed in Nigeria. The financing was raised by BNP Paribas and a

Best Deals of 2007: Aluar, Argentina

ABN Amro, Calyon, JPMorgan, Natixis and Rabobank closed a US$150mn financing for Aluar, Argentina's primary producer of aluminium, in December 2007. The facility marks the continued strength of Aluar, and the wider Argentine economy. The deal i

Best Deals of 2007: Ambatovy Mineral, Madagascar

In August 2007 mandated lead arrangers Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ, BNP Paribas, Calyon, ING, Mizuho, Shinhan, SMBC, Société Générale and Woori and closed a US$405mn dual tranche export credit agency-backed facility in supp

Best Deals of 2007: Avea, Turkey

One of the largest agency-supported multi-tranche syndicated financings arranged for a Turkish borrower to date signed last April. The US$1.6bn financing was for the expansion of Avea's mobile telecommunications network and was positively received by e

Best Deals of 2007: Bahia Pulp, Brazil

Sole lead arranger WestLB closed a unique US$320mn hybrid financing raised for Bahia Pulp in Brazil in January 2007. This deal stands out in the market due to its interesting structure that incorporates elements of project and corporate finance, but is

Best Deals of 2007: Banglalink, Bangladesh

Initial mandated lead arrangers (IMLAs) and global co-ordinators Standard Chartered Bank and KfW Ipex were joined by mandated lead arranger (MLA) HSBC and a host of other arrangers mid-year for what turned out to be the biggest telecom financing to dat

Best Deals of 2007: BI Cement, Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan's first cement plant based on more energy-efficient 'dry' technology will be built near Astana thanks to a landmark financing signed last year. A package comprising an export credit agency (ECA)-backed facility of €50.98mn and a commerc

Best Deals of 2007: Ciment Blanc Algerien, Algeria

In September 2007, Citi successfully closed as sole mandated lead arranger a US$320mn limited-recourse financing in Algerian dinar, for Ciment Blanc Algerien. Proceeds will be used to finance the construction of a greenfield cement plant near Oran and rel

Best Deals of 2007: CVRD, Brazil

In January 2007 mandated lead arrangers ABN Amro, Credit Suisse, Santander and UBS arranged a US$6bn pre-export financing to support Brazil's Companhia Vale do Rio Doce's (CVRD) acquisition of Canadian mining firm Inco. It is the largest syndicated acq

Best Deals of 2007: Diplomata Industrial e Comercial, Brazil

The first international loan syndication for a little-known Brazilian borrower caught GTR's eye last year.

Best Deals of 2007: Dung Quat, Vietnam

Mandated lead arranger BNP Paribas has structured a US$300mn facility, backed by Japan's Nippon Export & Investment Insurance's (Nexi) overseas untied loan insurance (OULI), in support of the Dung Quat refinery project in Vietnam. The transaction s

Best Deals of 2007: EVN, Vietnam

In March 2007 mandated lead arrangers Société Générale and Mizuho Corporate Bank co-financed with the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) a ¥7.319bn (US$68mn) facility for Electricity of Vietnam (EVN), the co

Best Deals of 2007: Evraz, Russia

Signed in November 2007 and involving a group of 10 banks, the US$3.2bn multi-tranche credit facility for Evraz Group represents the largest metals pre-export financing deal completed in Russia to date. The deal was co-ordinated by ABN Amro and

Best Deals of 2007: HCB, Mozambique

Mandated lead arrangers Calyon and Banco BPI signed a US$800mn electricity prepayment facility for electricity producer

Best Deals of 2007: Henan Yuguang Zinc, China

Sole bookrunner and mandated lead arranger BNP Paribas closed a Rmb660mn pre-financing for Chinese metals producer Henan Yuguang Zinc last year, a breakthrough in closing transactions within China's nascent legal environment. The facility is st

Best Deals of 2007: Indian Oil, India

Sole arranger BBVA signed a US$300mn buyer's credit facility with the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) in August 2007, setting a benchmark for future transactions with the borrower. The deal was the first bilateral facility to date to be closed between IOC

Best Deals of 2007: Jindal Steel & Power, India

Sole lead arranger Calyon successfully closed a €33.7mn ECA-backed transaction for Jindal Steel and Power (JSPL) in India. Signed in December 2007, it breaks new ground in structuring export credit financing in India. The export credit age

Best Deals of 2007: Kingdom of Morocco

Santander closed a €188.91mn financing for the supply of off-road vehicles, and ambulances to Morocco in April 2007, setting a new benchmark for export-credit agency (ECA)-backed financings in the country. The transaction was backed by the

Best Deals of 2007: Land Rover, Global

ABC International Bank (ABCIB), the London subsidiary of Bahrain's Arab Banking Corporation, is acknowledged as a niche regional specialist, supporting trade transactions with goods either heading to, or from, the Middle East & North Africa (Mena)

Best Deals of 2007: JSC Madneuli and LLC Quartzite, Georgia

Sole mandated lead arranger, bookrunner, underwriter and facility agent Deutsche Bank closed a four-year US$180mn structured commodity financing for two mining companies, Madneuli and Quartzite, in Georgia in July 2007. The deal is notable due to it be

Best Deals of 2007: Marine Gardens, Russia

Bank TuranAlem (BTA) signed the first ever deal to be realised by a commercial bank and backed by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) in Kazakhstan and the wider CIS region in October 2007. The deal marks the first financing of deliveri

Best Deals of 2007: Marafiq IWPP, Saudi Arabia

BNP Paribas, Gulf International Bank and Samba Financial Group signed a US$3.443bn financing in May 2007 in support of the largest independent power and water desalination project finance transaction in the world to date. As well as its size, t

Best Deals of 2007: Mechel, Russia

Mandated lead arrangers and underwriters ABN Amro, BNP Paribas, Calyon, Commerzbank, Natixis, SMBC and Société Générale successfully closed Russian metals and mining company Mechel's debut syndicated acquisition refinancing

Best Deals of 2007: Metinvest, Ukraine

Mandated lead arrangers and bookrunners ABN Amro, BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank and ING closed a US$1.5bn dual-tranche loan for Ukrainian metals and mining group Metinvest in July 2007. It is the largest ever syndicated loan raised for a corporate

Best Deals of 2007: Millicom Tanzania, Tanzania

In March 2007, Citi acted as sole arranger for a loan for Millicom Tanzania (Tigo) that totalled US$22.45mn. The transaction is the first financing in Tanzania under Opic's Africa-Middle East Risk Sharing Framework and the first local currency guarante

Best Deals of 2007: Ministry of Finance, Angola

Acting as sole arranger and lender, Deutsche Bank signed several structured trade finance loans valued at a total of €533mn with the Ministry of Finance in Angola throughout 2007. The deals form the latest part of a framework agreement signed in 2

Best Deals of 2007: Noble Group, Asia Pacific

Acting as joint mandated lead arrangers ING, Société Générale and Standard Chartered structured a US$500mn committed guarantee facility for Noble Group, a major global supply chain manager for agricultural, industrial and en

Best Deals of 2007: Noble and Gujarat Fluorochemicals, India

HSBC and Calyon signed a landmark 33mn prepayment facility for trading company and supply chain manager Noble Group in

Best Deals of 2007: Norilsk Nickel, Russia

Mandated lead arrangers BNP Paribas and Société Générale structured a US$6bn financing package to fund Russia's Norilsk Nickel's acquisition of Canada’s Lionore Mining International in one of the most high profile deal

Best Deals of 2007: Pluspetrol, Peru

Mandated lead arrangers BBVA, BNP Paribas, Scotia Bank, Standard Bank and Natixis closed a US$170mn syndicated senior secured medium-term loan for Peruvian oil company Pluspetrol Norte in December 2007. The deal stands out as a rarity in the market, gi

Best Deals of 2007: Privatbank, Ukraine

JPMorgan concluded a landmark EDC financing in support of an important Ukrainian telecommunications project in the middle of last year. PrivatBank, the largest bank in Ukraine by capital and assets and a valued client of JPMorgan, sought the US

Best Deals of 2007: Renova, Argentina

Considered to be the first major biodiesel project financing in Argentina, a US$27mn non-recourse facility arranged via WestLB is seen as a milestone transaction in the country's nascent biofuels market. The funds, raised in July 2007, are bein

Best Deals of 2007: Sealane, Asia Pacific

In November 2007 mandated lead arranger Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) closed a US$3bn balance sheet synthetic securitisation of trade finance loans. The transaction, known as Sealane, wins the accolade of being the largest cross-border securitisation d

Best Deals of 2007: Skopje Power, Macedonia

The biggest single private investment in the Republic of Macedonia to date was signed during 2007 and arranged by Landesbank Berlin (LBB). The €167mn finance raised is for the construction of a 'cleaner' 220MW combined cycle power plant in Skopje

Best Deals of 2007: Sterling Energy, Mauritania

BNP Paribas and Natixis arranged a US$250mn loan for Sterling Energy at the end of 2007, marking the first reserve-based lending (RBL) facility to combine assets housed in both Africa and the US. The facility enables Sterling Energy to pay off

Best Deals of 2007: Technical Consumer Products (TCP), China/US

During 2007 Technical Consumer Products (TCP), the largest US distributor of energy-efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs, found that the push for greener energy consumption was fuelling explosive growth in orders and contracts while at the same ti

Best Deals of 2007: VimpelCom, Russia

The first ever Russian rouble-denominated export credit facility closed finance in September last year. The Rb2.1bn transaction

Best Deals of 2007: Vinacomin, Vietnam

Sole bookrunner and mandated lead arranger Calyon closed a US$40mn pre-export facility for Vietnam National Coal and Mineral (Vinacomin) in March 2007, the first ever pre-export financing raised to support coal in Vietnam. The deal demonstrates

Best Deals of 2007: West Coast Power, Sri Lanka

The largest independent power producer (IPP) project in Sri Lanka's history was signed at the end of last year. With seven export credit agencies (ECAs) involved in the bank debt, the deal also sets a tenor benchmark for Sri Lanka, achieving the longes

Best Deals of 2007: ZAO Profit, Russia

Commerzbank, ING, Natixis and Raiffeisen Bank, acting as mandated lead arrangers, closed a Rb2.8bn (US$114.48mn) structured syndicated facility for ZAO Profit, a leading company in the collection, processing and supply of scrap metal in Russia last yea

Region:

Keywords:

Subscribe online now for GTR

emeafinance, the complete information source for the finance industry in the EMEA region.

Visit emea

GTR Magazine - March April 2008