denotes premium content | Jan 6 2009 
Feature
posted 23 Feb 2005 in Volume 8 Issue 4
Transelectrica, Romania: A collaborative success
MLA: KfW IPEX-Bank
Borrower: Transelectrica, Romania
Deal size: €31.9m
Lead insurer: OeKB
Tenor and payment schedules: construction period plus ten years repayment. Twenty equal, semi-annual installments
Closing: 12 August 2004
This deal marks the first project of this magnitude in Romania covered by OeKB on purely corporate risk terms. It is multi-sourced from three countries and, as a result, involves three ECAs.
OeKB acted as lead insurer for coverage of the transaction. Euler-Hermes of Germany and HBOR of Croatia provided reinsurance for the German and the Croatian portions of the deal. This is OeKB’s first reinsurance agreement concluded with HBOR, which is starting to tap further multi-sourced export-credit business.
“This is one more example of the capability of export-credit agencies to respond to the trends of globalisation and multi-sourcing appropriately,” says Ferdinand Schipfer, director and head of export guarantees – project underwriting at OeKB. “For OeKB, the arrangement with our Croatian partners within only a couple of weeks adds HBOR to the list of rather new ECAs OeKB successfully co-operates with. Their speed and understanding for the industry’s needs make this type of team-play not only beneficial for companies but also convenient and pleasant for the insurers involved.”
According to Patrizia Holz, senior manager for KfW IPEX-Bank’s power, renewables and water, acquisition and structuring division, the bank was awarded the mandate due to “its financing experience in the power sector in Central and Eastern Europe, its long-standing contacts to the leading market players, as well as its excellent expertise in arranging export-credit-agency-covered loans”.
In order to maintain its central market position in Romania’s electricity sector, Transelectrica – Romania’s national electricity transmission, system and market operator – embarked on a detailed modernisation and rehabilitation programme. The export-credit facility will finance the modernisation of Bucharest South – the largest transformer station in Romania and one of the most important cross points within the national power grid.
