Hyundai Secures $500 Million Loan For Ships

Hyundai Merchant Marine closed on a $500 million debt facility on Tuesday from a syndicate of financial institutions led by DNB Bank.

HMM will use the loan from the Dutch bank to fund the construction of five ultra-large container vessels being built at Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering scheduled to be delivered throughout 2014. Once delivered, the mega-ships will be deployed on the Asia-Europe trade route.

In addition to DNB, the other financial institutions involved in this transaction are ABN AMRO, Credit Agricole, Korea Finance Corporation and The Korea Development Bank.

HMM closed on the debt facility at a time when it is increasingly difficult for carriers to borrow from European ship finance banks that used to finance 70 percent of new ship orders before the Great Recession put so many of those loans into default.

“We continue to be active in maritime finance throughout the cycle and our involvement in this transaction exemplifies our continued commitment to this space, said Erik Borgen, DNB’s head of Asia.

“This development shows that reputable ship owners with good track records can continue to tap the capital markets during times of economic uncertainty.”