Genting Hong Kong has secured $3bn in financing from a consortium of international lenders for two super-sized cruiseships being built in Germany.
The ships, which will be operated under Genting's Dream Cruises brand, will be the world's largest cruiseships by passenger capacity and the biggest ever built in Germany.
The financing package totals around EUR 2.6bn ($2.9bn) with a total investment volume of just under EUR 3.1bn, according to a statement.
The lending consortium is being led by KfW IPEX-Bank and includes BNP Paribas, Citibank, Credit Agricole, Credit Suisse and DNB.
An undefined "substantial" portion of the loan amount will be further syndicated to more than 10 other German and international banks.
Newbuildings
The two 204,000-gt Global Class I and II vessels are currently under construction at the three MV Werften shipyards in northern Germany, which Genting acquired in 2016.
“Due to unavailability of cruise ship slots in the next 10 years, we made a conscious decision to invest in MV Werften in order to build the ships we needed for our three cruise brands in a timely manner,” said Tan Sri Lim, Genting Hong Kong's chairman and chief executive.
"The financing adds an additional momentum for a successful restart of MV Werften and the completion of the ships."
The Global Class ships are designed for the growing Asian cruise market.
Each cruiseship will have 2,500 cabins and 5,000 lower berths and capacity to carry up to 9,500 passengers plus 2,500 crew.
Delivery of the two vessels is scheduled for early 2021 and early 2022 respectively.
Export credit guarantees
The loan structure will be backed by export credit guarantees from the Federal Republic of Germany and the Finnish export credit agency Finnvera.
The German state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, where MV Werften is based, will also provide a guarantee for the financing.
The loan rate has been fixed at the commercial interest reference rate (CIRR) for ships according to the minimum interest rate set by the OECD.
The CIRR programme supports German shipyards and shipbuilding.
