The Bank of Punjab (BOP) led syndicate has raised over Rs 10bn for Thar Energy Limited (TEL) for working capital financing. In this regard, a financing documents signing ceremony was held at BOP’s corporate office in Karachi to mark the successful closure of the first tranche of the facility.
The ceremony was attended by Mr. Kamran Kamal (CEO, The Hub Power Company), Mr. Saleemullah Memon (CEO, TEL), Mr. Zafar Masud (President & CEO, BOP) along with CEOs and senior executives of syndicate banks including National Bank of Pakistan, Bank AlHabib Limited, Pak Kuwait Investment Company, Pak China Investment Company and Pak Brunei Investment Company.
TEL, sponsored by The Hub Power Company (HUBCO), Fauji Fertilizer Company and China Machinery Engineering Corporation, is setting up a 330MW Thar Coal-fired power plant to provide affordable energy in Pakistan with a project outlay of ~USD 520 million. The project is part of China Pakistan Economic Corridor and is located at Thar, Sindh. The project shall save substantial foreign exchange reserves by using indigenous Thar coal.
The successful debt arrangement for TEL in a short period of time is a testament of market confidence on TEL and investment banking capabilities of The Bank of Punjab which acted as mandated Lead Arranger for this transaction. Mr. Kamran appreciated the role of BOP, which is fast emerging as one of the most active commercial banks in the market, for supporting TEL in arranging first tranche of the facility.
Mr. Zafar Masud (President and CEO, BOP) thanked senior executives of TEL, HUBCO, and syndicate banks for attending the ceremony and expressed his keen desire to deepen the institutional relationship with a leading business group like the Hub Power Company for its projects of national importance.
