- Region: Asia
- Marine and Aerospace
- Export Loans
March 28, 2013
- The Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC; Governor: Hiroshi Okuda) signed today four buyer's credit agreements*1 totaling up to 42.6 million U.S. dollars (JBIC portion) for funding the purchase of four bulk vessels with PB Vessels Holding Limited (PBVH) in the British Virgin Islands. PBVH is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hong Kong's leading shipping operator Pacific Basin Shipping Limited (Pacific Basin)*2. Each loan is cofinanced with The Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ (BTMU; lead arranger). The overall cofinancing amount for four bulk carriers is 85.2 million U.S. dollars. Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (NEXI) provides Buyer's Credit Insurance for the portion cofinanced by BTMU.
- Pacific Basin, the ultimate user of these ships, is headquartered in Hong Kong and is one of the world's leading owners and operators of modern handysize and handymax dry bulk carriers. These loans will finance Pacific Basin to purchase four of their bulk carriers built by three Japanese shipbuilders respectively in their domestic shipyards.
- Amid continued constraints to structure ship financing across the world, these loans will provide financial support for the export of ships built in Japanese shipyards, thereby contributing to maintaining and improving the international competitiveness of the Japanese shipbuilding industry.
- JBIC will continue to actively support the export of ships built in Japanese shipyards, which perform a significant role in the regional economy through employment creation in associated industries, including their mid-tier enterprises and small and medium-sized enterprises, in cofinancing with private financial institutions and in partnership with the Shipbuilders' Association of Japan.
Note
- *1 JBIC signed an individual loan agreement with PBVH for each bulk carrier in cofinancing with BTMU.
- *2 Pacific Basin is a registered corporation in Bermuda.