China's No1 cargo carrier has four ships on order and plans 18pc box increase
China Shipping Container Lines (CSCL), the mainland's largest sea cargo carrier, is seeking a US$300 million loan to buy new vessels and containers.
Syndication of the loan might prove tricky given its six-year term against an eight-year lease for the containers, bankers said.
Most syndicated loans cover a three-year period and generally top out at five years, which is as far as lenders are generally willing to look at a borrower's ability to service debt.
The loan will cost CSCL 42 basis points above the London interbank offered rate in interest. Citigroup has been hired as the arranger.
The company ordered four new ships in January for US$231 million and plans to buy 13,500 new 20-foot container boxes for an additional US$19 million. It plans to take on 64,000 new containers, an 18 per cent increase in capacity, this year at a cost of two billion yuan.