Baker & McKenzie Advises Gulf JP on its USD1.185 Billion Financing of the Nong Saeng IPP Project in Thailand
Deal Announcement
6 December 2011
Bangkok and Singapore, 6 December 2011 – Baker & McKenzie recently advised Gulf JP NS Company Limited (Gulf JP) on its USD1.185 billion financing of the Nong Saeng Independent Power Producer (IPP) project in Thailand. The loan was financed by Japan Bank for International Cooperation, Asian Development Bank, Mizuho Corporate Bank, Ltd., The Siam Commercial Bank Public Company Limited and KASIKORNBANK Public Company Limited.
This project was awarded through bidding in 2007 under the Thai government’s electric power development plan. The project entails the construction of a 1,600-megawatt gas combined cycle thermal power plant in Nong Saeng, and 25 years of electricity sale to the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) after the commencement of commercial operation.
The Baker & McKenzie team was led by Project Finance partners James Huang and Chew Chin in Singapore; and, Banking & Finance partners Komkrit Kietduriyakul and Viroj Piyawattanametha in Bangkok. The team was assisted by associates Theerapab Punyasakhon in Bangkok, Ang Kim Hock in Singapore, and James Keeping in London. The deal adds to the Firm’s strong expertise and experience in the global Energy, Mining & Infrastructure sectors, particularly its ability to advise on English, Thai and Singapore law across Thailand, Singapore and Japan.
Commenting on the deal, James Huang said, “We are pleased to have assisted Gulf JP on this important transaction which sets a new tenor benchmark for international project financing in the region. It will be interesting to see if this will lead to more of these types of long-term financing deals by Asian energy companies.”
Komkrit Kietduriyakul said the deal was particularly interesting, not only because it is the first large IPP project to reach financial close in Thailand since the 2008 global economic crisis, but also because the project was under a form of a long-term power purchase agreement with the EGAT, which differed from previous project financed IPPs and created many interesting issues which challenged both the sponsor and the lenders.
“We are very happy to draw on our extensive experience in power project financing and bring the transaction to a successful close in an extremely tight time window for our client. This transaction not only fortifies our client’s leading position in the Thai energy market, but also enables our client to provide affordable energy to consumers in Thailand,” Komkrit Kietduriyakul added.