Hanjin Shipping Co, Hyundai Merchant Marine Co and SK Shipping Co have agreed to borrow a combined US$482 million to refinance liquefied natural gas vessels, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter.
The South Korean companies signed 10-year loans of about US$160 million each after Korea Gas Corp provided a letter of undertaking to contract the ships' cargo, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the transactions are private.
BNP Paribas SA, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd and Calyon are among 10 commercial banks providing US$385 million through a so-called club loan paying interest of about 3.6 percentage points more than the six-month London interbank offered rate, the people said. Financial adviser Korea Development Bank is underwriting the balance, they said.
South Korea, the world's largest buyer of LNG, purchases the fuel under multi-year contracts from Qatar, Indonesia, Oman, Malaysia, Australia, Indonesia and Brunei, as well as individual cargoes in the spot market.
Prices for LNG fell to US$386 a tonne from US$708 a tonne a year ago as oil prices declined, the Korea International Trade Association said on July 16.
Officials at Hanjin Shipping and Hyundai Merchant confirmed that they had refinanced the loans in response to queries from Bloomberg but didn't provide further details.
Spokespeople at SK Shipping couldn't be reached for immediate comment.
The South Korean companies signed 10-year loans of about US$160 million each after Korea Gas Corp provided a letter of undertaking to contract the ships' cargo, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the transactions are private.
BNP Paribas SA, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd and Calyon are among 10 commercial banks providing US$385 million through a so-called club loan paying interest of about 3.6 percentage points more than the six-month London interbank offered rate, the people said. Financial adviser Korea Development Bank is underwriting the balance, they said.
South Korea, the world's largest buyer of LNG, purchases the fuel under multi-year contracts from Qatar, Indonesia, Oman, Malaysia, Australia, Indonesia and Brunei, as well as individual cargoes in the spot market.
Prices for LNG fell to US$386 a tonne from US$708 a tonne a year ago as oil prices declined, the Korea International Trade Association said on July 16.
Officials at Hanjin Shipping and Hyundai Merchant confirmed that they had refinanced the loans in response to queries from Bloomberg but didn't provide further details.
Spokespeople at SK Shipping couldn't be reached for immediate comment.