Date:15/03/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/03/15/stories/2006031506001800.htm

Business

Tata Steel signs two ECB pacts

Special Correspondent

Loans have a repayment period of 10 years

KOLKATA: Tata Steel has signed two external commercial borrowing (ECB) agreements aggregating euro 61.42 million ($73.36 million).

The fund will be utilised to finance the import component of blast furnace H and sinter plant 4.

This is part of the ongoing expansion project in Jamshedpur blast furnace H, which will produce 2.5 million tonnes per annum of hot metal.

The export credit agency (ECA) covered facilities were signed with Deutsche BankAktiengesellschaft, Frankfurt am Main, as original lender on March 13, according to a company release. These facilities are insured by SACE SpA (Servizi Assicurativi per il Commercio Estero) of Italy and Euler HERMES Kreditversicherungs - Aktiengesell schaft of Germany. The loans have a repayment period of ten years and an availability period of about three and two years, respectively. The coupon on the loans will be Euribor plus 12 basis points.

In 2005-06, Tata Steel completed $971 million of external commercial borrowings comprising an IFC (and IFC syndicated) loan of $400 million; a syndicated loan of $500 million and the above ECA insured financing.