Norton Rose Fulbright advises JBIC on first loan in Emirate of Sharjah
Global | Press release - Business | May 2019
Global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright has advised the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) on its provision of a buyer’s credit loan facility to Sharjah Electricity and Water Authority (SEWA) for the purposes of purchasing a set of power generation equipment (including a gas turbine, manufactured by Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems, Ltd.).
The power generation equipment will be used for the expansion of the Al Layyah gas-fired power plant in the Emirate of Sharjah. This transaction is JBIC’s first loan provided to a Sharjah based entity.
The US$482 million loan agreement, which was signed on March 28, included a JBIC tranche and a commercial lenders tranche (involving Societe Generale, Tokyo Branch, ING Bank, a branch of ING-DiBa AG, and Standard Chartered Bank, Tokyo Branch). The commercial lenders tranche will be covered by insurance from Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (NEXI). Norton Rose Fulbright also advised the commercial lenders and NEXI with respect to some discrete aspects of the transaction.
The Norton Rose Fulbright team advising JBIC included Tokyo based partners Julien Bocobza, George Gibson and associate Yui Ota and Dubai based partner Matthew Escritt and of counsel Hani Ghattas. The Norton Rose Fulbright team advising the commercial lenders and NEXI included Tokyo based partner Paul Coggins and associate Chiaki Kawai.
Julien Bocobza, partner in Norton Rose Fulbright’s Tokyo office, commented:
“This transaction included unique challenges, being JBIC’s first loan to a Sharjah entity. We are delighted to have advised JBIC in relation to this loan, which will not only allow Sharjah to respond to the increasing demand for electricity due to economic growth in the emirate but also contribute to maintaining and increasing the international competitiveness of Japanese companies.”
For more information, please contact:
Kate Farrell, Public Relations Manager
Tel: +44 20 7444 3724; Mob: +44 7515 324 290
kate.farrell@nortonrosefulbright.com
