EVN Signs US$450Mln Credit Deals with Four Financiers

Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) last weekend clinched three credit deals worth a total VND7.1 trillion ($450 million) with four major Vietnamese and international financial institutions.

 

The credit agreements are aimed to call for capital to upgrade the electricity network and develop the corporation's ambitious telecommunication plans.

 

In the first contract, the An Binh Joint Stock Commercial Bank, Deutsch Bank and the financial company VinaCapital would jointly issue some VND5 trillion ($316.5 million) worth of bonds for EVN. These bonds will mature after 10 years and have coupons equivalent to the current interest rate in the market.

 

In the second contract, EVN will borrow VND100 billion ($6.3 million) from the An Binh Bank and PetroVietnam Financial Company (PVFC) to invest exclusively in the 220kV Tuyen Quang-Thai Nguyen transmission line.

 

In the third contract, VinaCapital and PVFC will also provide VND2 trillion ($126.6 million), either as capital or bonds.

 

EVN deputy general director Dinh Quang Tri said that his corporation would receive the cash loans in a month’s time and the bonds in two months.

 

The funds will be spent to develop the power industry, which currently requires $16 billion in investment to meet the projected annual consumption growth of 16 per cent through to 2010, he said.

 

"This was a new capital sourcing channel for EVN, together with traditional financial sources provided by local commercial banks," he added.