This week, Standard Chartered has announced a USD 50 million loan facility for the shipping arm of South Africa listed Grindrod Limited. Standard Chartered acted as the sole lender and the loan is secured by a series of ships that will be delivered over the next 18 months. The loan facility will provide Grindrod a source of liquidity to take advantage of opportunities that may arise in the shipping market.
Grindrod is South Africa’s largest and oldest ship owner and it said business environment remains challenging due to reduced economy activity, tight credit markets, lower trade volumes, declining commodity prices and increased counterparty risk. Profit made in the first half of 2009 fell 77% to USD 27.6 million, from USD 122.2 million in 1H08. Despite the sharp decline in freight rates, the company has still managed to deliver a strong interest cover of 9.0 times in June 2009.
This is only an excerpt of Another Standard Chartered Transaction
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Tags: · Grindrod Limited, Standard Chartered Bank
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