Kerry takes $6b loan as banks fall in behind deal
Kerry Properties yesterday established a $6 billion loan for refinancing and working capital.
The developer said the five-year revolving loan met a good response from local and international financial institutions.
Kerry, which focuses on luxury residential developments in Hong Kong, originally planned to raise $4.5 billion but increased the loan size to $6 billion in the wake of the positive response.
Local and international institutions such as Bank of China (Hong Kong), BNP Paribas, Calyon, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (Asia) and Citigroup joined as co-ordinating arrangers for the deal, which is self-arranged by the developer.
The loan carries an interest rate of 29 basis points above the Hong Kong interbank offered rate.
The developer did not specify how it intended to use all the capital but said the money raised would be used among other things for corporate funding requirements, including the early repayment of a $4.5 billion syndicated loan concluded in January 2002.
Kerry has a number of projects under construction, including the Enterprise Square Five in Kowloon Bay.
On the mainland, the firm is working on three mixed-use property projects, including a US$700 million joint development in Jingan district in Shanghai's Puxi and the US$490 million Shanghai New International Expo Centre joint project in Pudong. It is also solely developing a mixed-use property project in Hangzhou.
Deputy chairman Wong Siu-kong earlier said Kerry would pay close to two billion yuan this year for the land at the three sites.
Kerry is just one of the Hong Kong developers tapping capital from the loan market.
Two weeks ago, Sun Hung Kai Properties, the city's biggest developer by market value, self-arranged a $11.4 billion loan.
