Kuwait National Petroleum signs $6.25bn loan for clean fuels project

Kuwait National Petroleum Co (KNPC) has signed a $6.25bn loan with international lenders and export credit agencies (ECAs) to finance its planned clean fuels project, the company announced on Wednesday.

The loan is the largest ever ECA-backed corporate facility, the company said in a statement.

The ECAs involved in the financing are Korea Trade Insurance Corporation (K-Sure), the Export-Import Bank of Korea, SACE, Japan Bank for International Cooperation, Nippon Export and Investment Insurance, Atradius Dutch State Business N.V. and UK Export Finance.

The Japanese ECA loan agreement was signed at the end of March.

KNPC, advised by NBK Capital, selected a group of 10 international banks to provide the financing under the coverage of the Korean ECA K-Sure, the Italian SACE, the Dutch Atradius and the British UK Export Finance.

The banks are HSBC, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ (BTMU), BNP Paribas, Banco Santander, Societe Generale, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA), Natixis, Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank (CA-CIB), Mizuho Bank and Standard Chartered Bank.

Under a $500 million agreement with Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (Nexi) the company signed a loan with a club of four banks comprising Sumitomo Mitsui banking Corporation (SMBC), BTMU, Mizuho bank and HSBC.