Sberbank, Sovcomflot Sign $106m Finance Deal
The largest bank in Russia Sberbank and shipping company Sovcomflot have signed a new USD 106 million project financing agreement, with a term of up to 14 years.
The funds will finance the construction of a high ice class Arctic shuttle tanker (Arc7) for the Novy Port project, under a long-term agreement with Gazprom Neft.
This is the third major transaction of its kind between Sberbank and Sovcomflot. The first joint project between the companies was in 2015, to finance the construction of three Arctic shuttle tankers to transport crude oil from the Novy Port field.
That agreement set an important precedent for Russian domestic credit institutions, and was named “Deal of the Year” by the international publication Marine Money.
Nikolay Kolesnikov, Executive Vice President and CFO of PAO Sovcomflot, noted: "We welcome the continuing development of our strategic partnership with Russia's leading banking group. Today, Sberbank is among the largest financial partners of Sovcomflot, which reflects the growing role of the Russian banking sector as a source of finance to the shipping industry. This financing agreement will enhance the Group's long-term liquidity position, and will enable us to meet the capital requirements of our current shipbuilding programme."
Igor Bulantsev, Senior Vice President of Sberbank, Head of Sberbank CIB, said: "We are delighted that the mutually beneficial cooperation between Sovcomflot Group and PAO Sberbank is growing consistently, across a broad range of banking services.
Investment in significant projects that fund the development of a modern infrastructure continues to be a priority for the Bank. We are positive about the prospects for lending to the shipbuilding industry and look forward to the continuation and further development of the relationship between our companies."