Standard Chartered sole structuring bank for SriLankan Airlines $ 150 m term facility
Wednesday, 2 April 2014 00:20
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Standard Chartered has acted as the sole structuring bank, joint mandated lead arranger, account bank, agency and security trustee and book-runner for a $ 150 million equivalent multi-currency senior secured Islamic structured term financing facility for SriLankan Airlines (SAL). The facility is partially secured by a Government guarantee with preferential access to the airlines IATA receivables from a number of countries.
“Standard Chartered is proud to have structured such an innovative facility for the country’s national airline and to be associated with promoting the economic development of Sri Lanka,” the Bank’s Head of Client Coverage Colin Pawley said.
“The proceeds of the facility will be used towards the refinancing of an existing facility and provide additional capital to support the airlines re-fleeting exercise. The transaction is a fine example of distributing non-regional credit to Islamic banks, underscoring the importance tied by such banks to well structured deals,” he added.
Mandated lead arrangers and book-runners in the transaction include Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, Al Hilal Bank, Noor Bank, Standard Chartered Bank and United Bank Ltd.
The airline has greatly appreciated the support provided by Standard Chartered and the four other Mandated Lead Arrangers in the transaction.
National carrier’s Head of Finance Yasantha Dissanayake said: “SriLankan Airlines is pleased to have completed this complex transaction and looks forward to partnering with Standard Chartered with whom we have had a long history of association as well as with the other mandated lead banks for our future financing requirements. We are particularly encouraged by the fact that international banks have come forward to finance the airline by taking into consideration the growth prospects not only of the airline but that of the country.”
SriLankan Airlines is the flag carrier of Sri Lanka, with hubs located at Bandaranaike International Airport in Colombo and Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport, Hambantota. The airline has grown in repute and popularity over the years and provides convenient connections to its global route network of 74 destinations in 37 countries in Europe, the Middle East, South Asia, Southeast Asia, the Far East, North America, Australia and Africa. The airline is set to join the oneworld alliance on 1 May 2014.
