Deacons has advised a syndicate of lenders on the successful launch of a HK$30 billion (US$3.8 billion) syndicated green term loan facility to MTR Corporation Limited (MTRC).
The syndicated facility, which is the largest unsecured international syndicated green term loan (excluding project finance) ever completed by a Hong Kong corporation in Asia, the Middle East and North Africa, was participated by 57 local and international banks in total. The facility received an overwhelming response from many potential participated banks at syndication and the final facility was more than 5 times oversubscribed, which underscores the financial strength and market confidence in MTRC.
On the same day that the syndicated green term loan facility was successfully completed, Deacons also assisted Korea Development Bank to close out a US$780 million (US$100 million) bilateral green revolving loan facility to MTRC. The proceeds of both loan facilities will be used to finance and refinance the eligible green investments of MTRC as defined in its Sustainable Finance Framework.
The Deacons banking and finance team advising the lenders on the financings was led by Michael Sinn (Partner) and Crystal Li (Partner), with key support and assistance from Dorothy Lo (Senior Associate), Yvette Ho (Senior Associate), Natalie Chan (Associate) and Hui Ling Yuen (Associate).
On the successful completion of both loan transactions, Michael Sinn commented:
“We are pleased to have assisted our financial institution clients on this significant landmark transaction. It was particularly challenging with the large number of participant banks involved and an expedited timeframe of just less than one month from syndicate launch to signing, but we are delighted to have assisted the lenders and MTR in bringing the transaction to a successful close with the support of all parties involved.”
Crystal Li also commented:
“This landmark transaction is also the second significant loan transaction in as many months involving a major Hong Kong public sector entity that our team had the privilege of leading. This highlights our team’s proven ability of handling syndicated loan transactions of similar scale and for PSE borrowers in particular.”
