Foreign banks loan $1 billion to Kazakhmys

Kazakhstan's top copper producer Kazakhmys has signed an agreement on a pre-export credit line of $1 billion, the company’s press-release states. According to the document, the funds will provide “additional liquidity during implementation of the company’s major projects on expansion of production and will be used for general corporate goals”. The loan is provided by the following banks: Bank of China, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Deutsche Bank AG, ICBC, ING Bank, Natixis, Société Générale, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, UniCredit, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Citibank, Crédit Agricole CIB, JP Morgan и The Royal Bank of Scotland. The loan’s principal shall be repaid within 3 years, starting from January 2015 until December 2017. “The loan's interest rate is LIBOR (London Interbank Offered Rate) plus 2.8 percent,” the message writes. According to the Chief Financial Officer of Kazakhmys Matthew Hurd, the loan’s good terms reflect the company’s stability. “The credit line will provide us with additional flexibility in attraction of funds during implementation of our major projects on expansion of production within the next three years,” he said. This new loan will replace the existing credit line of $2.1 billion that will be fully repaid in February 2013. Kazakhmys produces 90 percent of copper in Kazakhstan and is one of the leading copper producers in the world. The group owns 19 operating mines, 10 mining plants and 2 copper plants. Besides, the company owns significant assets in production of gold, zinc, silver and energy. Kazakhmys is listed at the London, Hong Kong and Kazakhstan stock exchanges. The company’s profits made $3.6 billion in 2011. Kazakhmys employs around 60 thousand people, mainly Kazakhstan citizens.