Swiss trader Trafigura has secured financing worth $560m as part of a Japanese LNG import deal.
The commodities group said the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) is providing $390m, with Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp (SMBC) contributing the rest.
The loan is intended to provide the funds needed by an unnamed Japanese utility to import LNG from Trafigura on a term basis.
The Swiss group already charters LNG carriers to ship the gas globally.
“We’re delighted to have been trusted with helping a Japanese utility company meet its energy needs and securing a stable supply to the Japanese market, and are grateful for the financial support of JBIC and SMBC in achieving this goal,” said Richard Holtum, global head of gas, power & renewables at Trafigura.
The deal has been done against a backdrop of growing global demand for LNG and increasing uncertainty over resource prices, the trader added.
The loan “will contribute toward securing a stable supply of LNG, which is an important energy resource for Japan”.
JBIC said it will continue to provide financial support to this end.
This was Trafigura’s second financial transaction in Japan in days.
At the end of March, the group refinanced its Japanese term loan credit facilities, known as a “Samurai loan”, totalling ¥123.45bn ($815m).
Upsized deal
The financing was increased by $200m compared with the 2020 and 2022 deals.
The funding round was “very well received by Samurai investors and closed substantially oversubscribed”, the company said.
Christophe Salmon, Trafigura’s chief financial officer, added: “The transaction is one of the largest in the Samurai loan market to date and is the most sizable in the commodities industry.”
The transaction involves 28 banks over five years.
The borrowing has been structured as a sustainability-linked loan, with benchmarks designed to improve Trafigura’s emissions performance.
Mandated lead arrangers and bookrunners were MUFG Bank, Mizuho Bank, SMBC and Development Bank of Japan.
