UASC, ABN AMRO and Sinosure win the Marine Money ECA Deal of the Year Award 2012

United Arab Shipping Company (UASC) along with its banking partner ABN AMRO Bank N.V. (ABN AMRO) announced that their Sinosure covered bilateral credit facility of US$ 78m concluded in 2012 has won the “Marine Money ECA Deal of the Year” award for 2012.

The loan facility received a special recognition by Marine Money, a leading industry publication, for being the first application of Sinosure’s Buyers Credit coverage to the container box industry. The loan facility, which was structured by ABN AMRO, was also recognized for its potential to unlock non-traditional bank financing into a sector that has traditionally been dominated by finance from specialized banks.

The facility was arranged as an easily repeatable series of identical loan facilities for a total of US$78m, financing in total 26,000 container boxes. It also represents the first transaction for UASC to be covered by the Chinese ECA, availing for the Company a new source of capital.

Mr. Basil Al Zaid, UASC’s CFO said “UASC is proud to have won the Marine Money award for the second time in three years, for the ECA finance category. The award is a recognition of UASC’s solid relations with ECAs and it also demonstrates the Company’s ability to introduce innovative financing solutions in cooperation with its long term banking partners”.

Sinosure provided comprehensive buyer’s credit insurance cover for the facility, covering both political and commercial risk. Sinosure’s Senior Manager Mr. Henry Xu commented: “Sinosure is willing to constantly support UASC's purchase of containers from Chinese manufacturers"

The transaction further cements the close relationship between UASC and ABN AMRO, who were key in putting together this transaction.

Gust Biesbroeck, Global Head of ABN AMRO’s Transportation Group commented: “I would like to congratulate both UASC and Sinosure on the award for this innovative transaction. We are pleased with the opportunity to support our client UASC in the container box financing space. Our ability to provide innovative financing in today’s challenging banking market re-affirms ABN AMRO’s leading position in the financing of container equipment worldwide.”