By Liu Zhigang King & Wood Mallesons’ Finance Group

The history of Project Finance in China is not long, but it is rich. In the earliest days, Project Finance was used mainly in power plant deals, then later extended to water plant deals and petrochemical projects. At that time, Chinese sponsors were short of funds and experience, and Chinese banks were short of foreign exchange and caught up in bad loans. Furthermore, China’s infrastructure base was very weak, and the production capability of Chinese entities was also unreliable. Therefore, the lenders in the Project Finance market were mainly foreign banks, and the loans included commercial loans, export credit, and soft loans. The loans were used mainly to import the machinery and equipment produced by the foreign producers. As well as the collateral on all project assets, the lenders also requested and were able to obtain sponsors’ guaranties and even governmental guaranties for almost every project, although such arrangements are not typical under the project finance model.
Continue Reading Development of Project Finance Deals in China and with Chinese Banks

作者:刘志刚 金杜律师事务所融资

项目融资在中国的历史不是很久,它是一个舶来品,但迄今已经积累了很多的实践。在最初始的阶段,项目融资模式主要用于火电厂的建设,之后才扩展至水厂、化工项目,等等。在那个时候,中国的发起人缺乏资金和经验,中国的银行机构缺少外汇,并且正在为大量的不良贷款所困扰。同时,国内的基础设施建设相当薄弱,而中国生产商的设备制造能力也是不可靠的。在种种因素的作用下,项目融资市场上的贷款人主要是外资银行,贷款品种包括商业贷款、出口信贷以及政府贷款,贷款中的大部分用来进口国外生产的机器设备。贷款人不但要求在项目的全部资产之上设置担保,而且往往要求并能够获得发起人的保证担保,甚至是项目所在地政府的担保,尽管这在项目融资的模式中并不是常见的安排。

经过20多年的发展,中国公司和银行进行的项目融资交易模式已经有了很大的变化。目前,具备中国因素的项目融资交易主要有两类:在中国境内进行的项目融资和在中国境外进行的项目融资。两种模式有各自不同的特点。Continue Reading 中国项目融资的发展