HONG KONG--(BUSINESS WIRE)--HKBN Group (“HKBN” or the “Group”) announced today that it has completed the refinancing of HK$4.1 billion term and revolving credit facilities with various local and international banks to lower its cost of funding. Under the favourable borrowing environment, BNP Paribas, Mandated Lead Arranger & Bookrunner, worked with HKBN’s management team to “amend and extend” the existing credit facilities. With support from the majority of its existing lenders, and with non-consenting lenders being replaced by upsizing existing lenders and new lenders, the cost of debt has been lowered from HIBOR plus 1.35% to HIBOR plus 1.05% whilst extending the maturity from November 2021 to May 2023.
Andrew Wong, HKBN Co-Owner and CFO said, “This refinancing will provide great benefits for our Co-Owners and our shareholders over the next 5 years. The success of this transaction clearly demonstrates the high quality of HKBN’s assets, our ability to generate free cash flow and the strength of our long-standing banking relationships.”
Wayne Green, BNP Paribas’ Head of Loan Syndicate and Sales, Asia Pacific said, “We are very proud to have been selected to partner HKBN as the coordinating Bank for the amend & extend exercise. The result of the amend & extend exercise is a clear indication of the positive support and strong relationship that HKBN enjoys with its banking relationships. The final bank group composes a mix of local and international banks which understand and are aligned with the strategies and philosophies that HKBN operate under.”
Mandated Lead Arrangers include Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (Asia) Limited, Hang Seng Bank Limited, Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, Crédit Industriel et Commercial, Hong Kong Branch, Chong Hing Bank Limited, E.Sun Commercial Bank, Ltd., Hong Kong Branch, MUFG Bank, Ltd., Citigroup Global Markets Asia Limited, Bank of East Asia, Bank of Taiwan, Hong Kong Branch, Cathay United Bank Company Limited, Hong Kong Branch, Hua Nan Commercial Bank, Ltd., Hong Kong Branch, Taipei Fubon Commercial Bank Co., Ltd. and Taishin International Bank Co., Ltd.
Lead arrangers include Mega International Commercial Bank Co., Ltd., Offshore Banking Branch, Taiwan Cooperative Bank, LTD. Hong Kong Branch and PT. Bank Negara Indonesia (Persero) Tbk., Hong Kong Branch.
About HKBN Group
HKBN Group is Hong Kong’s largest provider of residential high speed fibre broadband (symmetrical 100Mbps to 1,000Mbps) services by number of subscriptions, and a fast growing enterprise solutions provider. The Group offers a full range of telecommunications solutions for both the residential and enterprise markets, encompassing broadband and Wi-Fi network services, cloud solutions, data connectivity, data facilities, system integration, mobile services, entertainment and voice communications. HKBN owns an extensive fibre network in Hong Kong, which covers over 2.2 million residential homes passed, representing approximately 81% of Hong Kong’s total residential units, and more than 2,300 commercial buildings. HKBN embraces “Make our Hong Kong a Better Place to Live” as its core purpose, and takes great pride in developing its Talents into a competitive advantage. The Group is managed by over 300 Co-Owners who have invested their own savings to buy shares of HKBN Ltd. (SEHK Stock Code: 1310), representing the majority of supervisory and management level Talents in the Group. HKBN Group is part of HKBN Ltd.