Pakistan Water and Power Development Authority (Credit Suisse)
This award was keenly contested. Standard Chartered deserves credit for being appointed escrow agent on the construction of the new Nepal International Airport, funded by a $216 million loan from Export-Import Bank of China. And Credit Suisse stands out for its $65.1 million term loan to Housing Development Corporation, a state-owned Maldivian firm, which will finance the construction of 7,000 social housing units on the sprawling island chain that sits at the heart of the Maritime Silk Road.
But it’s another complex transaction driven by Credit Suisse that wins this award. The $350 million term loan to Pakistan Water and Power Development Authority in June 2017 was ground-breaking for many reasons. It was the first corporate loan in Pakistan to come with partial guarantees from the ministry of finance and the World Bank’s International Development Association.
It was also complex and environmentally friendly: the 10-year loan, which came with a six-year grace period, was used to fund a 4,320-megawatt hydroelectric dam in Dasu, north of Islamabad, to be built by Wuhan-based China Gezhouba Group. The deal also marked the latest complex and challenging BRI deal completed by Credit Suisse, which was sole mandated lead arranger, original lender and lead adviser on the unsecured term loan, underlining its commitment to the south Asian nation. Interest and principal on the first eight years of the loan were guaranteed by the finance ministry, with the exception of the third-year interest payments.