denotes premium content | Jan 6 2009 
Feature
posted 23 Feb 2005 in Volume 8 Issue 4
EFE, Chile: In from the cold
Sole lead arranger & lender: BNP Paribas
Borrower: Empresa de Ferrocariles del Estado (EFE)
Deal size: $90m
Split: $75m buyer’s credit and $15m uncovered facility
ECAs: Cesce & Coface
Tenor: up to nine years
Signing: 29 October 2004
The Spanish contracts placed under this multisourced ECA framework agreement arranged by BNP Paribas were the first to be financed after a long blackout period between Spain and Chile. It is the first Cesce-covered deal signed in Chile in the past four years after Spain cancelled many export financings to the country following Pinochet’s return.
It is also the first ECA financing granted to a Chilean public railway company without a ministry-of-finance guarantee. EFE was offered a long-term USD-CLP cross-currency swap to hedge the transaction and transform EFE payment obligations into CLP, to mitigate the FX risk.
EFE purchase contracts with suppliers from Spain and France will be financed through admission forms under BNPP’s framework agreement and the corresponding financial loan, with the cover of the relevant ECA.
