Australian iron ore mining company Fortescue Metals Group has won a US$490mn export credit agency-backed facility from ANZ, KfW and HSBC.

Deutsche Bank acted as the joint financial advisor on the deal alongside ANZ.

The transaction is comprised of a US$168mn Coface-backed tranche and a US$147mn ONDD-backed tranche funded equally by ANZ and HSBC, and a Euler Hermes-backed tranche funded by KfW Bank.

ANZ acted as both the joint financial advisor and the mandated lead arranger on the Coface and ONDD-supported facilities.

Proceeds from the loan will be used to finance Fortescue’s mining expansion project in the western Pilbara region, western Australia.

Paul Gardner, Deutsche Bank’s head of structured trade and export finance, Asia, tells GTR: “We see great potential for ECA financing to form a major part of a number of the natural resource projects slated for Australia and Asia generally.”