Photo credit: New Development Bank (NDB)
The Shanghai-headquartered New Development Bank (NDB) and the Bank of Communications Financial Leasing Co., Ltd. (BCFL) have signed a $150m equivalent in RMB 1,069.23m loan agreement to buy at least three liquified natural gas (LNG) carriers.
This move aims to address China’s surging demand for LNG while closing the gap between demand and supply of LNG carrier capacity.
This project is the first non-sovereign loan granted by NDB to a non-banking financial institution in China.
The financial leasing company BCFL was founded as a wholly owned subsidiary of BoCom in 2007 with the headquarter in Shanghai, China.
On the other hand, the NDB is a multilateral development bank established by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) with the purpose of mobilising resources for infrastructure and sustainable development projects in emerging markets and developing countries (EMDCs).
NDB and the Bank of Communications (BoCom) signed a memorandum of understanding in 2016 to establish a long-term strategic partnership.
According to NDB, this collaboration further strengthens their ties and highlights NDB’s commitment to supporting a diverse range of financial institutions and strengthening local markets.
The imports of LNG will help reduce China’s coal consumption and related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, NDB said, which is in alignment with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development issued by the Chinese government.
Meanwhile, this batch of LNG carriers will be equipped with advanced propulsion systems.
The signing took place in the headquarters of NDB on February 21.
Vladimir Kazbekov, NDB vice president and chief operating officer (COO), and Jiuyong Yin, vice president of Bank of Communications and Bin Xu, chairman of BCFL participated in the signing.
Vladimir Kazbekov, NDB vice president and COO, emphasized that the non-sovereign loan provided by the New Development Bank to BCFL will significantly enhance its liquefied natural gas transportation capacity.
“It demonstrates NDB’s dedication to supporting China in reaching a peak in its carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions before 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2060. This transaction will further strengthen the strategic partnership between NDB and BoCom. The LNG Transportation Project is aligned with NDB’s focus on supporting clean energy and energy efficiency projects as well as the Bank’s commitment to scale up non-sovereign operations,” Kazbekov said.
