UASC secures multi-currency ship financing
of US$ 275 million

21 Feb 2010


United Arab Shipping Company (UASC) announced today concluding a multi-currency US$ 275 million term loan facility on a ‘club deal’ basis. The funds have been secured to finance UASC’s acquisition of three A13 type container vessel new buildings, each with a capacity of 13,100 TEU. These, together with an additional six A13s, shall complete the company’s new building order of nine 13,100 TEU container vessels ordered from Samsung Heavy Industries shipyard in Korea, valued at US$ 1.5 billion.

These ships will be equipped with the latest Waste Heat Recovery technology making them amongst the “greenest” ships available in the market, demonstrating UASC’s commitment to reduce and limit CO2 emissions.

QNB (Qatar National Bank) was the Mandated Lead Arranger and Coordinating Bank, bringing in Burgan Bank S.A.K. (Kuwait), The Commercial Bank of Qatar Q.S.C. and Doha Bank Q.S.C. as Lead Arrangers and Al Khaliji Commercial Bank (al khaliji) Q.S.C. as Arranger to this important cross-border GCC transaction. QNB is also the Documentation Agent, Facility Agent, Security Agent and the Account Bank while BNP Paribas (Suisse) is the Structuring Bank.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Jørn Hinge, President and Chief Executive Officer of UASC, said “With this facility, UASC will finance three of the nine A13 type container vessels currently on order. We at UASC recognize the effort to conclude this senior facility by leading banks from the GCC as a token of trust in UASC’s solid foundation, sound performance and strong future prospects within the current challenging market environment. By the time the entire new building order is delivered, UASC will have substantially increased its fleet capacity and achieved greater economies of scale. The A13s will significantly improve UASC’s cost-base to enable the company to compete head-to-head with other industry majors. This, together with planned network enhancements, increased investment in IT systems, and efficiency improvement measures, will reconfirm the company’s leading position in the region. Moreover, we are pleased to demonstrate our commitment to sustainability as we bring among the world’s most environmentally friendly container vessels into service”.

Mr. Basil Al-Zaid, Chief Financial and Technical Officer of UASC added, “This facility is one of a series of facilities sought currently by UASC in order to arrange for the financing of its new building order. This deal marks a new involvement in ship finance in the region and, looking forward, there could be other new opportunities and growth prospects”. Mr. Abdullah M. Al-Khalifa, General Manager, Corporate Banking, of QNB (Qatar National Bank) said, “This facility shows vital strategic importance of UASC. QNB has a long relationship with UASC since 1979. We are pleased to be a strategic partner and to act as the Mandated Lead Arranger and Coordinating Bank in successfully arranging this milestone cross-border multi-currency transaction in GCC”.

Mr. Abdulla Saleh Al Raisi, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Commercial Bank of Qatar, said “Commercial bank is pleased to participate in this cross border Multi currency term loan facility as Lead Arranger. We also hope that the strategic objectives of UASC will be achieved by the purchase of the 3 financed vessels and strengthen its position as a leader in the container shipping industry. “

Fadel Abdulla, Chief Corporate Banking Officer of Burgan Bank, said “On behalf of all of us at Burgan Bank, I would like to express our pleasure to be part of this club deal, which falls within our principles and strategies to support business development and growth in the GCC. Our participation as lead arranger is driven by our sincere belief in the United Arab Shipping Company, its management, and its major strategic role in the region. We in Burgan Bank highly appreciate the relationship with UASC and are working to continue nourishing this relation to achieve our mutual success”.

United Arab Shipping Company (UASC)